Local News
Housing Levy Suspension Extended Again
Orders delaying the implementation of the government’s housing levy have yet again been extended by the Employment and Labour Relations Court until June 10th, 2019.
The 11 petitions that challenge the fund will be consolidated to be heard together upon orders from the court on Monday, 27th May.
The presiding judge on the case, Justice Maureen Onyango, has consolidated the cases whose plaintiffs are mostly trade unions who are against the implementation of the tax on employees.
She added that it would be time-saving to have all the cases heard before the same court because of the similarity of the issues raised.
According to Justice Onyango, the parties that filed their suits before the High Court, however, will have to make a decision on whether to proceed or consolidate them for expeditious hearing.
The parties have been directed to serve the respondents with their applications within two days and for the respondents to file their responses in the span of seven days.
The government plans to collect 1.5 percent of the gross salary of Kenyan workers’ in the formal sector to establish the fund.
However, several groups had filed suits challenging the levy, including the Law Society of Kenya, Trade Union Congress (TUC), Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) and Consumers Federation of Kenya (Cofek).
Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) was the first to file a suit but had also intended to withdraw it on the basis of having had its concerns addressed.
The Federation of Kenya Employers opposed COTU’s move contending that they were not involved in the negotiations.
A public notice had been issued by the government in April 2019 directing the implementation of the housing levy from May 2019. It had instructed employers to begin deductions and remit the funds by the 9th of every month.
