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ELRCDismissedNot stated in the judgment as provided

Kenya Union of Commercial Food and Allied Workers v Miniso Lifestyle (K) Ltd (Cause 351 of 2019) [2025] KEELRC 474 (KLR)

Employment and Labour Relations Court
21 February 2025
BOByram Ongaya
1,151 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
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The bottom line

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A Kenyan court dismissed a union's recognition claim because it had recruited only 100 of 250 employees, short of the required simple majority.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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The claimant trade union, through its Secretary General Boniface Kavuvi, claimed that it had recruited 100 of the respondent's employees between September and December 2018 and forwarded check-off forms, but the respondent refused to effect deduction of union dues or sign a recognition agreement. The union reported a dispute in November 2018; a conciliator was appointed, and at a meeting of 18 March 2019 the parties agreed the respondent would avail the muster roll to enable deductions and signing of a recognition agreement. The union alleged the respondent instead verbally terminated 18 employees and sought declarations, payment of Kshs. 40,000 per month for unremitted dues, a permanent injunction against victimisation, an order to deduct and remit dues, and an order to sign a recognition agreement. The respondent denied that a sufficient number of employees had been validly recruited, alleging forged and strikingly similar signatures on check-off forms and employees denying membership, and justified the terminations under the employment contracts. The Court found that with 250 employees and only 100 recruited, the simple majority required by section 54 of the Labour Relations Act for recognition had not been attained, and that stoppage of deductions was valid given employees' protest letters denying membership. The claim for dues was unparticularised and the agreed conciliation steps on numbers were never completed. The Court dismissed the entire suit, granted the claimant liberty to recruit properly, directed the respondent to cooperate and provide access and information, and ordered each party to bear its own costs.

Questions the Court framed

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The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.

  1. 1.Whether the respondent's actions should be declared unfair and unlawful
  2. 2.Whether the respondent failed to deduct and remit trade union dues contrary to section 48 of the Labour Relations Act and section 18 of the Employment Act
  3. 3.Whether the claimant attained the simple majority under section 54 of the Labour Relations Act to justify a recognition agreement
  4. 4.Whether the termination of 18 employees was unlawful victimisation for trade union activities

Key legal issues

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01

Whether the claimant had recruited a simple majority of the respondent's employees to justify a recognition agreement

Holding

The threshold was not attained: 100 out of 250 employees is below 50% plus one

Reasoning

The respondent's witness testified the respondent had 250 employees and the union had recruited only 100. Section 54 of the Labour Relations Act requires 50% plus one of unionisable employees for recognition. Since 100 of 250 falls short of the simple majority, the refusal to sign a recognition agreement was justified.

p. 3
02

Whether the respondent's failure to deduct and remit union dues was unlawful

Holding

The stoppage was valid because employees protested and denied joining the union, and the dues claim was not particularised

Reasoning

Employees wrote protest letters denying membership and demanding stoppage of deductions. Recruitment was alleged to involve forged signatures, with a report made to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations. The claimed dues were not particularised and the parties never resolved the numbers as agreed at conciliation, so the claim for dues failed.

p. 3

Legal principles established

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  • A recognition agreement under section 54 of the Labour Relations Act requires recruitment of at least a simple majority (50% plus one) of the unionisable employees
  • Stoppage of deduction of union dues is justified where employees deny joining the union and protest the deductions

Court orders

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  1. 1.The suit is dismissed
  2. 2.Each party to bear own costs of the suit
  3. 3.The claimant is at liberty to recruit employees in a proper and honest manner
  4. 4.The respondent should cooperate and provide information as well as access to the claimant

The bench

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One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.

BO
Byram OngayaPrincipal Judge
majority

Wrote the judgment

Jurisdiction invoked
Jurisdiction of the Employment and Labour Relations Court over the labour dispute referred under the Labour Relations Act (specific provision not stated in the judgment)

Relief refused

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Declaration that the respondent's action was unfair and unlawful

The recognition threshold was not attained and the stoppage of deductions was valid

p. 3

Payment of Kshs. 40,000/- per month for the period not deducted and remitted

The dues were not particularised and numbers were unresolved

p. 3

Permanent injunction against victimisation of employees for union activities

Claim dismissed in its entirety

p. 3

Order to effect deduction and remittance of union dues and to sign a recognition agreement

Simple majority not attained; employees denied joining the union

p. 3

Costs

Each party to bear own costs of the suit

Quotable passages

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Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.

In conclusion, the suit is dismissed with orders each party to bear own costs of the suit.
p. 3Final orders - dismissal and costs
the 50% plus one or simple majority envisaged in section 54 of the Labour Relations Act to justify recognition had not been attained
p. 3Recognition agreement threshold under section 54
The claimant should be at liberty to recruit employees in a proper and honest manner. The respondent should cooperate and provide information as well as access to the claimant.
p. 3Future conduct of the parties
The stoppage of deduction of union dues appear to have been valid in view of the exhibited letters by the employees who denied joining the union and who demanded stoppage of the deduction.
p. 3Validity of stoppage of check-off deductions

Issues in the judgment

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minor

Judgment dated 21 February 2025 but the memorandum of claim is dated 30 May 2019 and defence 26 July 2019, with no explanation of the delay on the face of the judgment

minor

Case title, case number and citation are not stated in the judgment text supplied

Key timeline

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Practical implications

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Frequently asked questions

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Cite this brief

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Cite this brief

Caselaw, "Kenya Union of Commercial Food and Allied Workers v Miniso Lifestyle (K) Ltd (Cause 351 of 2019) [2025] KEELRC 474 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Not stated in the judgment as provided. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/474/eng@2025-02-21

Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.