Private port workers move to court for better pay, work terms

Workers offload fertilizers from Nikitis Majuro Cargo Ship at Mombasa Port. 890,000 bags of fertilizer imported by Kenya's tea development authority from Romania. [Omondi Onyango,Standard]

The 47 petitioners who are engaged by ship contractors to work on ships and quayside have sued their employers, Kenya Ships Contractors Association (KSCA) and Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and other government institutions claiming they were being paid peanuts contrary to what was provided for under the KPA tariff of 2012.

The stevedores complained that they were subjected to a shift of 12 hours instead of eight hours per day and paid Sh350 or less without additional allowances. In his supporting affidavit, a petitioner Hillary Nayweni, said he has been engaged as a stevedore from 2016 by Geo Wave Ship Contractor which is a member of the KSCA.