Cotu secretary general Francis Atwoli yesterday called for an increment of workers’ wages by 20 per cent during the Labour Day celebrations this Friday.

Atwoli invited President Uhuru Kenyatta to grace the celebrations at Uhuru Park and urged him to give workers a pay rise.

He was speaking at St Stephen’s Church, Nairobi, during the Cotu jubilee celebration prayers. Cotu will be marking its 50th anniversary during this year’s Labour Day celebrations.

Atwoli said Kenyan workers are the leading taxpayers but have been ignored by the government due to ill advice to the President by “young and hungry mongrels motivated by greed”.

He said the government has turned to threatening, harrying and intimidating workers instead of holding talks with them.