By Kepher Otieno - Reporter
Kenya, 25 January 2026 - Kenya Electrical Trades and Allied Workers' Union (KETAWU) has issued a strike notice effective the end of February, setting the stage for a high-stakes confrontation that could paralyse power distribution across the country if the government and Kenya Power fail to urgently resolve a stalled Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
Speaking after reclaiming his seat as General Secretary for another five-year term, Ernest Nakenya Nadome declared that the union was done negotiating from a position of patience.
“This time there is no retreat, no surrender,” Nadome said, warning that workers were prepared for a full-scale industrial showdown if their demands continue to be ignored.
At the centre of the dispute is Kenya Power’s profitability.
Nadome accused the utility of posting annual profits of about KSh 34 billion while workers — the very engine of electricity generation, transmission and distribution — sink deeper into economic hardship. Rising living costs, stagnant wages and delayed CBAs, he argued, have created an unsustainable imbalance between corporate performance and worker welfare.
“Kenya Power is making billions through these workers, yet those profits are not reflected in their pockets,” Nadome said.
“Our members are struggling to pay rent, educate their children and survive rising taxes, while the company celebrates profits.”
KETAWU is demanding a KSh 5 billion increase in cumulative salaries under the proposed 2024/2025 CBA, framing the demand as both an economic necessity and a moral correction.
According to the union, failure to share prosperity with workers risks eroding morale and ultimately undermining service delivery in a sector that underpins the entire economy.
The union has given Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi and Kenya Power management until the end of February to return to the negotiating table and revise the CBA.
Nadome warned that failure to act would trigger what he described as an unprecedented strike that would halt electricity distribution nationwide.
“We are not bluffing. We will stall power distribution if our issues are not addressed,” he said, underscoring the seriousness of the threat.
More from Kenya
Beyond wages, the dispute exposes deeper structural tensions in Kenya’s state-linked corporations. KETAWU says past attempts to implement the draft CBA were frustrated by bureaucratic delays and institutional resistance, turning negotiations into what Nadome described as a “nightmare.”
The union now says it is restarting the fight with renewed legitimacy and unity.
That unity was on full display at Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu, where Nadome addressed delegates after winning re-election as KETAWU General Secretary.
He thanked workers for renewing their confidence in his leadership, saying the fresh mandate had emboldened him to push harder for long-delayed reforms.
“I now have a clear mandate from the workers to deliver this CBA,” Nadome said, adding that the leadership would not betray members’ trust.
The strike notice also comes as KETAWU consolidates its leadership structures nationwide.
In early January 2026, the union re-elected Mt Kenya East branch officials unopposed, signalling internal stability and a sharpened focus on delivering CBAs across the energy sector. The union is currently engaging Kenya Power, KenGen and other entities following its successful conclusion of a 2022–2025 CBA with the Geothermal Development Company (GDC).
From a business perspective, the looming strike places Kenya Power in a precarious position. Any disruption to electricity supply would have immediate ripple effects across manufacturing, healthcare, agriculture and the digital economy, turning a labour dispute into a national economic crisis.
Politically, the pressure is squarely on the government to reconcile profitability with social justice.
As February approaches, the question is no longer whether KETAWU is serious, but whether the State is willing to defuse a confrontation that pits billion-shilling profits against workers demanding dignity, fairness and a share of the wealth they help create.
For KETAWU, the message is clear and uncompromising: no retreat, no surrender.
