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A month after the Ministry of Labour directed Bohemian Flower Farm to reinstate more than 300 workers that were unfairly sacked, the management is yet to act.
Following the move, the workers have petitioned parliament to intervene and compel the management of the Naivasha-based farm to act and alleviate their suffering.
The ministry had accused the farm of unfairly terminating the workers contracts and going against the Employment Act of 2007.
The 320 workers were issued with summary dismissal letters in December last year for allegedly participating in a strike demanding better wages and working conditions.
According to the workers’ leader Eric Zakayo, the group was first suspended in December last year before being issued with summary dismissal letters last week.
“We are calling in parliament to intervene as the management has failed to heed a directive from the Ministry of Labor to either pay or reinstate us,” he said.
He termed the move as unfair adding that the set legal requirements were not followed as all the 320 workers had missed on their benefits.
“The management of the farm was using last year’s strike to illegally send workers home and we were not given an opportunity to defend ourselves,” he said.
The chairman of Fair Trade in the farm, Justus Obiri called on Fair Trade International which has certified the farm to intervene as workers were undergoing a lot of suffering.
He termed the sacking as unfair adding that many families that relied on the workers had been affected while the management did not give them time to defend themselves.
“We are appealing to Fair Trade International to come to the rescue of tens of workers who are working under harsh conditions while earning peanuts,” he said.
In the letter to the farm, Naivasha subcounty labour officer Margaret Obegi gave the management an alternative of reinstating the workers or paying them 12 months’ compensation.
“This office strongly opines that the redundancy was constructive dismissal and consequently the management is advised to either pay them 12 months’ salary compensation or reinstate them without any prejudice,” the letter reads in part.
Obegi noted that during their investigations, it had emerged that the farm management failed to issue an investigation report on the workers who allegedly participated in the strike.
The government officer noted that the farm failed to produce any incriminating evidence against the workers before issuing them with redundancy letters.
She further noted that the management went ahead to pay the workers their terminal dues on the day that they had lodged their complaints with the labour office on unfair dismissal. BY THE STAR