COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli has sounded the alarm over a worsening unemployment crisis in Kenya and many other countries worldwide. He revealed that despite Kenya’s economy showing signs of growth, nearly five million Kenyans remain jobless, highlighting a troubling disconnect between economic expansion and job creation.
Atwoli delivered this stark warning during the Plenary Session of the 113th International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva. He expressed concern that while businesses grow and infrastructure projects surge, millions of Kenyans, especially youth, are still unable to secure decent employment.
He noted that even those who are working are largely trapped in the informal sector, where low wages, lack of benefits, and job insecurity are the norm. According to Atwoli, over 80 percent of Kenya’s employed population now operates within this informal economy, surviving on unstable gigs, street vending, and manual labor without any social protection.
Atwoli warned that Kenya’s growth trajectory, if left unchecked, could deepen inequality and social unrest.
“Many working people today feel abandoned and unprotected. They have lost trust in institutions and no longer feel part of the societies in which they live,” Atwoli said.
The COTU chief linked the lack of formal employment opportunities to the mass exodus of young Kenyans seeking jobs abroad. He pointed out that desperation is pushing thousands of youths to migrate to countries in the Gulf, Europe, and North America, often under poorly regulated labor migration frameworks.
“This is what has fuelled the rise in labour migration mobility of our youth to countries in the Gulf, Europe, and North America, often under poorly governed migration regimes,” he noted.
Atwoli highlighted how many Kenyans are lured into foreign job markets with promises of better pay, only to encounter exploitation, wage theft, and poor working conditions. He said the growing number of abuse reports involving Kenyan migrant workers raises serious questions about the government’s oversight.
He called for immediate reforms to protect Kenyan workers abroad. Atwoli urged policymakers to establish stronger regulatory frameworks for labor migration, with proper vetting of contracts, better worker protection, and international cooperation to hold exploitative employers accountable.
