KPAWU Decries Poor Employment Terms at Flower Firms

The Kenya Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union (KPAWU) is opposing the increasing practice of some flower farmers in Naivasha of hiring workers on a seasonal basis.

The union referred to the attempt to control the rising cost of living as illegitimate, saying that it prevents the employees from receiving yearly pay raises or retirement benefits.

The action was taken just a week after President William Ruto addressed Labor Day celebrations where workers were not granted a pay raise.

The expense of labor, energy, fertilizer, and air freight charges have been cited by flower growers as their major challenges in the previous couple of years.

The new trend, according to Ferdinand Juma, secretary-general of the KPAWU Naivasha branch, was designed to prevent workers from being represented by the trade union.

Juma made the observation that seasonal workers were not entitled to pay increases or other perks enjoyed by permanent employees during a consultative meeting.

“We have seen cases where investors are employing workers on a seasonal basis meaning that they cannot get the annual pay rise or leave as per the labour laws,” he said.

Juma stated, “The union could not do much about seasonal workers because they were not KPAWU members, which is a common occurrence in many farms.”

“The ongoing exercise to employ workers on contract basis is well-planned and meant to lock out the union and phase out the issue of annual pay increase,” he said.

According to many farmers who said they could not afford the increased rates, the impasse surrounding the increase in NSSF contributions had also caused stress in the industry, he continued.

Samson Okumu, an industry specialist, claimed that hard economic circumstances, particularly in Europe, had reduced consumers’ purchasing power and led to budget cuts by farmers.

“Gone are the days that flower farmers used to make millions in profit and many are barely surviving with the new taxes and rising cost of farm inputs worsening the situation,” he said.

Earlier, Clement Tulezi, CEO of the Kenya Flower Council (KFC), accused the government of using ambiguity and failing to address issues plaguing the industry.

He claimed that despite having over 200,000 employees and being among the top earners of foreign exchange in the nation, the sector has not received the attention it deserves.

“The government claims that it is supporting farming so as to increase production but instead, it is slapping the sector with unrealistic taxes leading to stagnation,” he said.