President William Ruto’s meeting with Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary-General Francis Atwoli on workers’ wages comes against the backdrop of an intensifying political contest in Western Kenya, where the veteran trade unionist has emerged as one of the President’s vocal allies.
Ruto hosted Atwoli at State House, Nairobi, on Friday, with the two discussing workers’ rights, working conditions and better wages.
“Discussed improvement of working conditions, with a focus on better wages as part of our plan to raising the status of workers,” Ruto said.
Atwoli said the discussions focused on the rights and welfare of workers and described the meeting as fruitful. He also assured Ruto of the support of Kenyan workers in the realisation of his administration’s vision.
The engagement comes as Atwoli has stepped up his political activities in Western Kenya, where he has been campaigning for Ruto and opposing the growing influence of Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna.
Atwoli has openly criticised Sifuna’s presidential ambitions, saying the senator’s time to seek the presidency had not yet arrived.
“The time is not ripe for the young man. The time is not now for Edwin Sifuna,” Atwoli said earlier this month during a UDA engagement with aspirants from Western Kenya in Kisumu.
Atwoli told the gathering that Sifuna had a political future but argued that he was not yet ready for the presidency. He also questioned the senator’s efforts to seek support before building a political team.
The remarks have placed Atwoli directly in the political contest surrounding Sifuna, who has launched the Linda Mwananchi movement and declared his intention to seek the presidency in 2027.
Sifuna’s mobilisation has attracted attention in Western Kenya, a region where Ruto’s administration is seeking to consolidate support ahead of the 2027 election. The growing Sifuna wave had prompted senior government figures in Western Kenya to intensify efforts to strengthen Ruto’s political networks in the region.
Atwoli has been part of those efforts. At a recent meeting with UDA aspirants in Kisumu, he backed Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi as the region’s political kingpin and described Sifuna as a leader whose time would come in the future.
“He is going to be there after us, but his time is not now,” Atwoli said.
The COTU secretary-general has also accused Sifuna of seeking to divide the Western Kenya vote. In July, he claimed that former President Uhuru Kenyatta was funding Sifuna’s Linda Mwananchi movement to split the region’s support. The claim was reported as an allegation by Atwoli and was not established as fact.
The political positioning has made Atwoli an important voice in Ruto’s efforts to retain support in Western Kenya, where Sifuna’s emergence has added another layer to the competition ahead of the 2027 elections.
Ruto and Atwoli have maintained a working relationship since the President came to power. In February 2023, Ruto met union leaders led by Atwoli at State House and urged the labour movement to focus not only on salary increases but also on job creation, savings and improved working conditions. Atwoli, in that meeting, said COTU would work with the Government on its development agenda.
The latest meeting also comes months after Ruto announced a 12 per cent increase in general minimum wages and a 15 per cent increase for agricultural workers during the 2026 Labour Day celebrations in Vihiga.
