Work on section of Mombasa-Nairobi road stalls as strike over pay enters sixth day
A man walks past grounded machinery after work on a section of the Mombasa-Nairobi highway was halted after workers went on strike demanding their unpaid June and July salaries. PHOTO | WACHIRA MWANGI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The workers also say the contractor has refused to give them appointment letters.
- The more than 200 labourers Wednesday accused the management of non-compliance and being insensitive to their demands.
- A worker said the management has threatened to sack the Kenyan workers and deploy Tanzanians.
- The strike is likely to delay the completion of the 54.3-kilometre stretch, whose deadline is November 2016.
The rehabilitation of a section of Mombasa-Nairobi road has been paralysed by a strike.
Workers at Bachuma Gate-Maji Ya Chumvi went on strike on Friday after the contractor — China Dalian International Economic & Technical Cooperative Group— failed to pay their June and July wages.
Kenya Building and Construction Timber and Allied Union Secretary Hason Sande said the firm was not responsive to workers’ grievances.
“We are still talking to the management. The problem is that they are unwilling to listen even after we called a meeting to resolve the issue,” he said.
The workers also say the contractor has refused to give them appointment letters.
The strike is likely to delay the completion of the 54.3-kilometre stretch, whose deadline is November 2016.
In June, the union called a meeting when workers went on strike over similar demands.
The company agreed to pay the wages at the end of that month.
FAILED TO HONOUR PROMISE
Mr Sande said the employees agreed to return to work but the management failed to honour promises and instead resorted to dismissals.
“These are issues we discussed and we entered into an agreement. As representatives of the workers, we will ensure that their rights are not infringed on,” he said.
The more than 200 labourers Wednesday accused the management of non-compliance and being insensitive to their demands.
“We have not been paid for the last two months and the amount they have been paying is not what we agreed on at the time of employment,” one of the workers told the Nation.
He said at the time of employment, the company promised to pay them Sh411 per day in addition to a house allowance of Sh66 but instead the company was paying them Sh250 per day.
A truck driver, who sought anonymity, said the company has threatened to sack them if they keep on demanding for the allowances and replace them with “cheap labour from Tanzania”.
REPLACE THEM WITH TANZANIANS
He said the management has threatened to sack the Kenyan workers and deploy Tanzanians, claiming Kenyans are too demanding and expensive.
“They told us that they want to do away with Kenyans because they are demanding a lot of money from them,” he said.
On Monday, workers from various sections of the project stopped work, saying the contractors had failed to pay them a house and transport allowance for the past five months, blaming it on “a shortage of financial resources”.
“The lack of appointment letters has given them an advantage to indefinitely dismiss us from work.
“A supervisor can wake up one morning and sack you without any reason. There is nothing one can do because you lack any written document to support yourself,” he added.
The company’s representative who only identified himself as Liu said everything had been settled and work would resume before the end of the week.
“We have agreed with workers and are talking to their union. Their complaints have been dealt with,” he said by phone.
