Postal Corporation of Kenya v Communication Workers Union of Kenya (Cause E1030 of 2025) (28 October 2025) (Directions) [2025] KEELRC 2935 (KLR)
The bottom line
#What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Questions the Court framed
#The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.
- 1.Whether the ongoing industrial action by workers of an employer classified as an essential service should be interdicted/stayed
- 2.Whether the restriction on strikes in essential services under section 81 of the Labour Relations Act is consistent with Article 24 of the Constitution
- 3.Whether conditions attached to the stay of the strike should be anchored on the employer's obligation to pay outstanding salaries
Key legal issues
#Status of the right to strike
The strike is a fundamental and sovereign democratic right of workers, not a creation of statute but one regulated within a legal framework.
The Court characterised the right to strike as inherent in workers' democratic power rather than a statutory grant. It is therefore fundamental, though subject to the legal framework regulating its exercise. This framing informed the Court's reluctance to simply interdict the industrial action and its decision to attach conditions tied to the employer's own obligations.
Essential service restriction on strikes
As the employer is classified as an essential service under the Fourth Schedule to the Labour Relations Act, section 81 restricts workers' participation in strikes, and the restriction is consistent with Article 24 of the Constitution.
It was not disputed that the employer is an essential service. The Court held that section 81's restriction on strike participation in essential services is a limitation consistent with Article 24 of the Constitution. This established the legal backdrop against which the industrial action was stayed, though the Court tempered the restriction by conditioning the stay on payment of salaries.
Dignity and remuneration of workers
Workers who continue to provide labour despite non-payment of salaries for about five months can only live in dignity if remunerated; non-payment compromises basic human needs of workers and their families.
The Court noted the employer's admission that salaries had not been paid for about five months while workers continued providing labour. It reasoned that remuneration is tied to living in dignity, and that families' health and educational needs are compromised without pay. This equitable consideration drove the conditional nature of the stay, rather than an outright interdiction of the strike.
Legal principles established
#- A strike or withholding of labour is a fundamental right of workers, exercised within a regulated legal framework rather than conferred by statute.
- The right of workers in an essential service to participate in a strike is restricted under section 81 of the Labour Relations Act, and that restriction is a justifiable limitation under Article 24 of the Constitution.
- Where an employer seeks to interdict a strike, the Court may attach as a condition to the stay the employer's fulfilment of its core obligation to pay workers' salaries.
Court orders
#- 1.The on-going industrial action called by the Union is stayed on condition that the employer pays October 2025 salaries by 5 November 2025.
- 2.In default of payment by 5 November 2025, the Union and the workers are at liberty to proceed with the strike without any further notices or directions by the Court.
- 3.The Union is directed to file and serve responses to the Motion and submissions on or before the end of 31 October 2025.
- 4.Further proceedings on 5 November 2025.
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Labour Relations Act, including section 81 and the Fourth Schedule, read with Article 24 of the Constitution (essential services restrictions on the right to strike)
Relief refused
#Interdiction of the strike without conditions (the Court granted only a conditional stay tied to payment of salaries, leaving the inter partes Motion undetermined)
The Court conditioned the stay on the employer paying October 2025 salaries, noting the workers had gone unpaid for about five months while continuing to provide labour.
Costs
No costs order made in the Directions; the matter was fixed for further proceedings on 5 November 2025.
Quotable passages
#Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.
A strike or withholding of labour is a fundamental right of workers. It is an exercise of a worker’s sovereign and/or democratic power.
Section 81 of the Labour Relations Act restricts the right of workers in an essential service to participate in a strike or industrial action. The restriction is in line with Article 24 of the Constitution.
The on-going industrial action called by the Union is stayed on condition that the employer pays October 2025 salaries by 5 November 2025.
In default, the Union and the workers are at liberty to proceed with the strike without any further notices or directions by the Court.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Postal Corporation of Kenya v Communication Workers Union of Kenya (Cause E1030 of 2025) (28 October 2025) (Directions) [2025] KEELRC 2935 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Cause E1030 of 2025. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/2935/eng@2025-10-28
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.