KISUMU, Kenya, Jan 27 \u2013 A nationwide strike that could paralyze the country\u2019s sugar industry is looming after the newly elected Secretary General of the Kenya Union of Sugarcane Plantation and Allied Workers (KUSPAW) warned that workers will down tools if the government and millers fail to honour outstanding wage and benefit obligations.<\/p>\n
Speaking on Tuesday at Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu after being elected unopposed, Francis Wangara said the union had already issued a strike notice over unpaid salary arrears and benefits amounting to Sh10.8 billion, owed to workers in several sugar companies currently under transition.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we speak now, we have given a notice of strike which is going to take effect from Thursday,\u201d Wangara said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf nothing happens within one week, we will call on all sugar companies to join in solidarity so that we paralyze the sugar mills in the whole industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wangara accused the government of making false promises despite clear agreements on how workers were to be treated during the leasing and transition of state-owned sugar factories to private investors.<\/p>\n
Central to the dispute is a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) negotiated before the entry of new millers.<\/p>\n
Wangara said the agreements remain binding and cannot be ignored by incoming investors.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore they came into play, there was already an agreement signed between ourselves and the government,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody can say that the MOU does not apply to them. They were nowhere when we signed it, but it is binding.\u201d<\/p>\n
The union leader raised concern over what he described as deliberate salary reductions by some new millers, warning that paying workers below agreed rates would not be tolerated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sugar industry is exempted from the agricultural wages order, meaning salaries cannot be below the minimum,\u201d Wangara said.<\/p>\n
He said it is unfortunate that those who have taken over have decided to lower salaries.<\/p>\n
He also accused employers of violating labour laws by blocking union activity and stopping statutory deductions of union dues.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of them have stopped deducting union dues, which is against the law,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said the millers cannot obstruct the workers\u2019 right to belong to a union.<\/p>\n
Wangara further noted that branches had been forced to negotiate stipends to keep workers afloat during periods when factories were not operational.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf management fails to pay stipends, employees will run to other companies and the industry will lose skilled workers,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n
Wangara also singled out Chemelil and Kibos sugar companies, both currently in court, accusing their owner of frustrating workers\u2019 rights.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorkers have their rights, and they cannot be stopped by court processes,\u201d he said, adding that the union would take very stern action against non-compliant employers.<\/p>\n
Appealing directly to President William Ruto, Wangara urged decisive intervention to resolve the crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe respect the Head of State, but when his officers fail, it reflects back on him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe must take a bold step and guarantee that workers are paid what is due to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wangara called on newly elected union officials to act as \u201cambassadors of workers\u2019 rights\u201d as the union prepares for what could become a sector-wide confrontation.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KISUMU, Kenya, Jan 27 \u2013 A nationwide strike that could paralyze the country\u2019s sugar industry is looming after the newly elected Secretary General of the Kenya Union of Sugarcane Plantation and Allied Workers (KUSPAW) warned that workers will down tools if the government and millers fail to honour outstanding wage and benefit obligations. Speaking on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129622"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129622\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}