Kenyans uncertain of return to work as Covid-19 bites

Three in every five employed Kenyans were absent from work in May, a survey by the National Treasury shows on the back of restrictions imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus disease.

The survey, conducted by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) on the socio-economic impact of Covid-19 between May 30 and June 6, shows that 61.9 percent of Kenyans said they did not report to work in May.

Of those absent, 75.9 percent kept off due to the stay-at-home directives by the State and their employers, while the travel bans into and out of Nairobi, Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi counties forced 21.4 percent to miss work.

A further 0.4 percent of employees were in quarantine in the second month since the State imposed the restrictions.

Majority of those absent from work are still uncertain on when they will return, days after the State lifted travel bans as firms remain coy on if and when they would recall all staff.

“Respondents who were absent from work were asked to state when they were expecting to return. The highest proportion (77.8 percent) of these respondents reported that they were not sure when they would return,” KNBS says in the survey.

The high number of Kenyans unsure of whether they would return to work comes amid an environment where depressed revenues has forced employers to lay-off staff, effect salary cuts, and send others on unpaid leave in a bid to cut costs.

Most businesses closed in March after the government imposed restrictions on travel and banned social gatherings in a bid to control spread of the disease after Kenya reported its first Covid-19 infection.

President Uhuru Kenyatta lifted the travel ban on Monday allowing air, rail and road transport to resume in what will see Kenyans locked out of their work-places since March return in the coming days.

Kenya on Wednesday confirmed 278 new cases of coronavirus bringing the tally to 8,528 with 169 deaths.