Francis Atwoli Biography

Francis Atwoli (born 6 June 1949) is a popular Kenyan trade unionist who has worked in different areas in the Kenya government, he is currently serving as the Secretary General of the Central Organization of Trade Unions (Kenya)

Full Name	Francis Atwoli
Date of Birth	6 June 1949
Place of Birth	Kakamega county, Kenya
Nationality	Kenyan
Occupation	Trade Unionist
Active Years	1967 – present
Net Worth	$124 million
Social Media Handle	Instagram @atwolidza Twitter @atwolidza

Early Life and Education

Francis Atwoli was born on June 6, 1949, in Kakamega County but hailed from Kwisero in western Kenya. He completed his secondary school education at St. Mary’s School in Nairobi.

Francis received a labor scholarship to study at the College of International Labor Studies in Turin, Italy. He proceeded to the George Mini-Labor Center in Maryland, in the United States.

Career

Francis worked at Kenya posts and telecommunications where he learned leadership skills and served as secretary general.

He is the representative of Kenyan workers. Francis has worked diligently to ensure good governments and better policies for workers. He has helped COTU (K) grow from 300,000 to over 4,000,000. Francis also helps with achieving labor rights in the 2010 constitution.

Below are some of the positions Francis has held.

Senior Technician at Kenya Posts and Telecommunication Corporation. (1967-1986)
Branch Secretary, Union of Posts and Telecommunication Employees. (1971-1986)
Director of the Central Organization of Trade Unions, Kenya. (1986-1994)
General Secretary of the Kenya Plantation & Agricultural Workers Union (1994-to-date)
Secretary General of the Central Organization of Trade Unions in Kenya (2001-date)
Chairman of the East Africa Trade Union Confederation (EATUC) based in Arusha, Tanzania (2005 till date)
Executive Board Member and now serving Vice President of the International Trade Union Confederation, ITUC, based in Brussels, Belgium (2005 to date).
President of Trade Union Federation Eastern Africa (TUFEA) based in Khartoum, Sudan (2005 till date)
Deputy President of the Organization of Africa Trade Union Unity (OATUU) based in Accra, Ghana (2005 to date)
Member of the National Labour Board of Kenya (2004-present)
Director of Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (2003-2009)
Director of National Bank of Kenya (2003 till date)
Vice President of the former ICFTU-AFRO in Nairobi, Kenya (2001-2007)
Member of the National Aids Control Council of Kenya (NACC) (2001-date)
Council Member of the National Industrial Training Authority of Kenya (NITA) (2001 till date)
Member of the Board of Trustees at the National Social Security Fund Kenya (NSSF) (2001-date)
Board Member of the Training Center of the International Labour Organization, Turin, Italy (2001 to date)
Board Member of the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization, (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland (2008 to date)
President of the Pan African Labour Movement, the Organization of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU) (2014 till date)

Other Appointments

Francis’s other responsibilities at COTU

Independent Non-Executive Director, National Bank of Kenya
Chairman, East African Trade Union Confederation
President, Trade Union Federation of Eastern Africa
President, Organisation of African Trade Union Unity
Member, Governing Body, International Labour Organization
Vice President, International Labour Conference
Vice President, The International Trade Union Confederation
Secretary General, Kenya Plantation & Agricultural Workers Union

Awards

He has been recognized as a recipient of both the Chief of the Burning Spear (CBS), Elder of the Burning Spear (EBS), and the Moran of the Burning Spear, (MBS) for his role in Championing for Social Justice.

Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology awarded Francis the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters(Labour Relations) Honoris Causa of Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology.