1000 workers have been sent packing months after the Taita Taveta governor Granton Samboja said he would crack the whip to stem the county’s soaring wage bill.
The 1000 sent home include staff working as casual workers and others working under long-term contracts.
According to the Standard newspaper, the casual workers were given a termination notice on 22nd November and ordered to vacate their offices immediately.
“This is to notify you that beginning January 1, 2020, you will no longer be a casual employee with the county government of Taita-Taveta,” read the notice sent to the workers.
ECDE teachers and officers in the communications department are among those who have been affected.
Taita Taveta considers retrenching staff as wage bill soars
According to the Taita Taveta governor, Granton Samboja, wages take upto to 60% of the county revenue hence exerting pressure on the county to raise more revenue.
There are over 1100 casuals and 1400 permanent and pensionable staff and the county spends over sh.180-sh.190M in salaries monthly.
Last year, the governor announced that the county would be forced to trim its workforce in an effort to stem the soaring wage bill.
In June this year, the county conducted a biometric headcount of all staff that analyzed staff qualifications in an effort to weed out ghost workers.
Out of the 3,216 employees in the payroll, only 3,120 turned up for the exercise.
