UPDATE: August Salaries To be Paid Tomorrow, Says County Secretary
By Anchor Writers
Eight trade unions representing Machakos County Government employees have issued the administration a 24-hour ultimatum to address salary arrears, delayed statutory deductions and other outstanding employment obligations.
The unions say by end of the deadline, workers will stage a countywide Salary Parade tomorrow, Tuesday, September 22. (See letter below)
The unions have given the County Government until 5pm today, Monday, September 21, to resolve the grievances or provide a clear and credible commitment on when the outstanding payments will be made.
In a joint notice addressed to Governor Wavinya Ndeti and senior county officials, the unions said employees were facing mounting financial difficulties arising from delayed salaries and failure by the county to honour deductions made from their pay.
The notice was signed by officials representing the Kenya National Union of Nurses and Midwives (KNUNM), Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO), County Government Workers Union-Kenya (CGWU-K), Kenya National Union of Medical Laboratory Officers (KNUMLO), Kenya Environmental Health and Public Health Practitioners Union (KEPHU), Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), Kenya Union of Nutritionists and Dieticians (KUNAD) and Kenya National Union of Pharmaceutical Technologists (KNUPT).
The unions are demanding regular and timely payment of monthly salaries, preferably by the fifth day of every month, immediate regularisation of the payroll status of all legally recruited employees who are not properly captured on the county payroll and a definite timetable for clearing outstanding employee dues.
They are also demanding regular and transparent communication between the County Government, employees and their representatives on implementation of agreed payment commitments.
The latest ultimatum comes against the backdrop of the prolonged Machakos budget standoff, which has already affected county workers.
In early August, county employees demonstrated at the County Assembly over delayed salaries, with union officials saying the budget impasse had left workers struggling to meet basic obligations and access bank loans.
But the unions’ latest complaint goes beyond the delayed monthly salary.
According to the notice, employees are yet to receive their August 2026 salaries, while deductions made from their pay for obligations such as PAYE, SHA, NSSF and bank loans have also remained outstanding for periods of time.
The unions’ position is that such deductions should not simply remain unpaid after being recovered from employees’ salaries.
The notice therefore places the administration under pressure to explain not only when employees will receive their outstanding August salaries, but also when the accumulated third-party obligations will be remitted.
The unions have warned that the 5pm deadline today is the final opportunity for the County Government to resolve the matters and avert the planned action.“If there is no satisfactory action or a clear and credible commitment” by the deadline, the unions say they will proceed with the Salary Parade on Tuesday.
The Anchor has reached out to both the governor and county secretary for a comment over the notice and will communicate it as soon as The Editor gets it.
Though the pair did not respond to our inquiries, the County Secretary Dr Muya Ndambuki put out a staff circular informing them that August salaries would be paid tomorrow while the September pay would be out by September 30. He was silent about the other monies county workers are demanding. See the reply below.
The planned action is to run for seven days, after which the unions say they may, subject to applicable legal requirements, issue a formal strike notice and consider other lawful and peaceful measures to pursue settlement of outstanding employee obligations.
The unions have nevertheless directed employees taking part in the Salary Parade to conduct themselves peacefully, orderly and lawfully.
The latest confrontation adds another layer to the continuing financial and institutional crisis in Machakos County, where the Executive and Assembly remain locked in a dispute over the county’s 2026/27 budget.
Governor Ndeti declined to assent to the Sh17.8 billion budget approved by the Assembly and returned it for reconsideration, accusing MCAs of making unlawful alterations to the Executive’s proposals.
The immediate question now is whether the salary dispute can be separated from the wider budget impasse—or whether county workers will become the latest front in the continuing Machakos power struggle.
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