Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu has called on Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) judges to strengthen access to justice for migrant workers, noting that labour migration disputes increasingly present complex transnational legal challenges.
Speaking while closing the 2026 Annual Conference of ELRC Judges themed “Labour Migration and Access to Justice,” the DCJ said Kenyan workers do not lose their constitutional protections when they cross international borders, emphasizing that justice must remain accessible even when injustice occurs outside the country.
“A people-centred justice approach requires this Court not merely to resolve disputes, but to examine how our procedures, remedies, partnerships and jurisprudence can remove barriers, empower agency, preserve human dignity (utu) and generate outcomes that restore social equilibrium,” stated DCJ Mwilu.
Justice Mwilu noted that migrant worker cases often involve power imbalances, exploitation and trauma, particularly among low-wage domestic workers navigating cross-border recruitment systems.
She observed that the Judiciary’s framework on Social Transformation through Access to Justice (STAJ) calls on institutions to design people-centred justice pathways that are accessible, affordable and effective.
“Migrant workers, especially low-wage domestic workers navigating transnational recruitment systems, represent precisely the justice-seekers contemplated by STAJ.
Their justice journeys often traverse multiple jurisdictions, power imbalances, trauma and economic precarity,” said DCJ Mwilu.
According to the Deputy Chief Justice, labour migration cases provide an important test of whether the justice system can respond effectively to the realities faced by vulnerable workers whose disputes span multiple jurisdictions.
Reflecting on the insights shared by partners such as the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Global Justice Kenya, DCJ Mwilu said such partnerships are critical in helping courts understand the human impact behind the cases brought before them. The partners spoke on emerging labour migration trends, international legal standards and the challenges migrant workers face abroad.
The DCJ urged judges to interrogate employment contracts more closely in migrant-worker disputes, noting that agreements can sometimes conceal coercion and structural inequality. She encouraged the development of jurisprudence that address issues such as recruitment accountability, joint liability and the enforcement of foreign-based employment rights within constitutional parameters.
The conference brought together judges and stakeholders to examine the legal, institutional and human rights dimensions on labour migration.
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