Trade and Labour Pathways for Decent Work in Kenya's Digital Economy 2025

Policy and business responses3 Corporate action on skilling and worker protection must complement government policies and programmes to tackle digital labour challenges. An overview of government and business responses to digital labour challenges TABLE 1 Labour challenges Domestic initiativesTrade, investment and regional initiativesBusiness action Access to jobs and job creation –Infrastructure –Digital hubs –Skilling and certification –Easing digital services trade and talent mobility –Investment promotion and facilitation; SEZs; trade missions –Reducing trade barriers on ICT products –Mutual recognition of qualifications –Partnering with government and educational institutions on demand-driven skilling –Investing in digital infrastructure Decent work in digital jobs –Labour law reforms to protect digital workers –OSH guidelines for digital work –Support for digital worker unions –Common digital labour standards in the EAC –Trade and investment incentives conditioned on digital labour compliance –“Tripartite+” engagement in trade negotiations –Responsible business conduct guidelines (including on content moderation and data labelling) –Specialized insurance schemes –Human rights due diligence in digital value chains Job displacement due to AI and automation –Social protection –Attracting higher value-added digital jobs –On-the-job upskillingPotential and ongoing public- and private-sector responses to digital labour challenges are summarized in Table 1 and explored below. Source: Authors Trade and Labour: Pathways for Decent Work in Kenya’s Digital Economy 15