By MANGOA MOSOTA

Over 4,000 workers of four sugar companies are set to go on strike next week over failure by their employers to implement a pay increase.

The employees, through the Kenya Union of Sugar Plantation Workers (Kuspaw) have vowed to stop working from July 4.

“A job evaluation and salary survey undertaken last year recommended re-categorisation of jobs for our members,” said Francis Wangara, the Secretary General of Kuspaw.

In a letter addressed to the chief executives of the millers, the union stated failure to approve the report on job evaluation and salary survey would force members to go on strike.

Monday, Mr Wangari told The Standard the millers’ managers had reneged on an agreement to review the salaries and implement by last month.

dismissive
“The recategorisation was supposed to start in May. The management of the sugar factories are now dismissing the report, yet they had representatives in the survey,” he explained.

The affected millers include Nzoia, Chemilil, Muhoroni and South Nyanza Sugar Company (Sony).
Monday, Sony Sugar Corporate Affair Manager Ruth Opole said there are issues to be addressed before the report is implemented.

“The union has to resolve some issues on the report with the Kenya Sugar Board (KSB),” argued Ms Opole.

She said Sony employees had attempted to go on strike last week over non-implementation of the report, but held back after the company explained to them that the report had to be made binding.

But Wangara maintained that everything had been finalised and management representatives’ were part of the Job Evaluation team.

Bargaining Agreement
“All the millers are aware of the evaluation. KSB only facilitated the exercise,” Wangara argued.

The letter further notes that The Job Evaluation Report forms part of Compressive Bargaining Agreement (CBA) 2009-2011, hence parties cannot conclude CBA without implementing the report.

The letter is copied to among others, the Ministry of Labour, Cotu, KSB and Federation of Kenya Employers.

Among the major challenge is the delayed privatisation of millers and failure to engage in diversification. The trade safeguards ended in March, this year.