Kenya’s largest trade union umbrella body has called for stronger labour protections as artificial intelligence rapidly transforms workplaces, urging the government to ensure workers have a formal role in shaping the country’s emerging AI regulations.
The Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU-K) said technological innovation should be accompanied by social dialogue, decent work safeguards and accountability as AI increasingly influences recruitment, work allocation, employee monitoring, productivity assessments and remuneration.
Speaking during a three-day High-Level Trade Union Workshop on Artificial Intelligence Governance, Workers’ Rights and the Future of Work in Nairobi, COTU-K Secretary-General Francis Atwoli, through remarks delivered on his behalf, said workers must be placed at the centre of decisions affecting the future of employment.
Atwoli’s remarks were delivered by Adams Barasa.
“COTU-K is not opposed to artificial intelligence,” Barasa said, adding that the union supported technological innovation provided it was accompanied by protections for workers’ rights, livelihoods and dignity.
AI has moved from being a future technology to an immediate workplace reality, Barasa said, with automated systems increasingly involved in decisions that can affect whether workers retain their jobs.
Kenya’s ambition to become a regional hub for digital innovation, business-process outsourcing, digital labour and data services presents opportunities for its young population, he said, but could also create new vulnerabilities without adequate safeguards.
Algorithmic management
COTU-K said it was particularly concerned about algorithmic management, in which automated systems can allocate work, monitor performance, calculate earnings and trigger disciplinary action.
The union said employment was also becoming increasingly detached from traditional workplaces, with companies operating across borders while workers remain based in cities including Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and Eldoret.
Workers on digital platforms can receive instructions through applications, have their earnings determined by algorithms and, in some cases, lose access to work through automated deactivation, Barasa said.
“Behind every algorithm there is a human decision about how that algorithm should operate and, therefore, technology cannot become an excuse for removing accountability from employment relations,” he said.
COTU-K welcomed Kenya’s efforts to establish a statutory framework for AI through the Artificial Intelligence Bill, 2026, but called for workers and trade unions to have a formal role in the country’s AI governance system.
The union has submitted proposals to parliament seeking regulation of algorithmic management and mandatory consultation when AI systems could eliminate jobs, change workloads or pay, introduce intrusive surveillance or significantly alter working conditions.
The union also warned against Kenya becoming a source of low-cost labour in the global AI industry while workers undertake demanding tasks such as data labelling, AI training and content moderation.
Such workers should have access to decent wages, social protection, occupational safety and health, freedom of association and dignity at work, COTU-K said.
ILO backs worker participation
The workshop brought together senior officials from COTU-K affiliated unions, including Kenya National Union of Teachers Secretary-General Collins Oyuu, Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union Secretary-General Davji Atellah and Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers Secretary-General Akello Misori.
Their participation reflected growing concern within the labour movement that AI will affect workers across sectors including education, healthcare, public services, manufacturing and technology.
The International Labour Organization, through its Bureau for Workers’ Activities, also called for workers’ rights to remain central to Kenya’s AI transition.
ILO-ACTRAV Regional Desk Officer for Africa Hilma Mote said Kenya was well placed to influence the wider African debate on AI governance and the future of work because of its expanding digital economy.
She pointed to Kenya’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2025-2030, deliberations on the Artificial Intelligence Bill, 2026 and the growth of digital labour as developments that could have significant implications for workers.
Digitalisation could increase precarious employment, excessive working hours, weak social protection, opaque algorithmic decisions, workplace surveillance and occupational safety risks, Mote said.
“The real question is: How do we ensure that AI serves workers, respects fundamental rights, promotes decent work and contributes to social justice?” she said.
Mote urged governments, employers and workers to participate meaningfully in developing AI policies and regulations, saying trade unions should help shape the future of work rather than simply respond to decisions already taken.
She also highlighted ILO Convention No. 193 on Decent Work in the Platform Economy, which addresses issues including fundamental labour rights, fair remuneration, social protection, algorithmic transparency, data protection, freedom of association and collective bargaining.
The three-day meeting includes representatives from trade unions, government, employers’ organisations, parliament, academia, civil society and development partners.
COTU-K said it would seek continued cooperation with the ILO to strengthen trade union capacity in areas including AI governance, digital organising, algorithmic management, collective bargaining, worker data rights, occupational safety and technological change.
The union said Kenya’s AI transition should ultimately be judged not only by technological progress but also by whether it creates decent jobs, protects fundamental rights, distributes economic opportunities fairly and preserves human dignity.
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