More than 10 million Kenyans are still suffering from the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, nearly two years after the outbreak in the country.
This is according to a report released by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).
Speaking in Eldoret where the KNCHR launched two reports on the Covid-19 labour relations and access to justice, Commission CEO Dr Benard Mogesa said so far at least two million jobs have been lost, adversely affecting the livelihoods of their families.
He said there is a need for the government to come up with policies to address the challenges.
“The reports we have launched have come up with some of the policy and legislation issues that need to be addressed. Our findings also recommend that we really need to refocus our laws and policies in terms of dealing with pandemics going forward,” Dr Mogesa said on Friday.
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Job losses in the private sector stood at 44.2 per cent during the Covid-19 pandemic. At least 24.4 per cent of staffers in the sector were also affected by salary cuts effected due to advserse effects of the pandemic on the economy.
At least 11.6 per cent of Kenyans who lost their jobs during the pandemic were evicted from their houses due to inability to pay rent.
The Commission recommended strengthening of social security progammes for workers and also putting in place social economic policies during pandemics.
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The KNCHR report also highlights cases where employers victimised employees due to unclear work from home policies.
The Commission says employers should not have punished employees who travelled far from their works stations or failed to work due to the pandemic.
“Our report gives details and numbers of the workers who have been victimised because of lack of proper description and even policies on what working from home actually means,” he said.
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