Migotiyo Plantation in Baringo County has been accused of forcefully sacking its employees without following Labour Laws.
The company, associated with Baringo Senator Gideon Moi, has reportedly locked out all its 324 employees from the farm despite a court order restraining its management from taking such action.
The Kenya Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union, KPAWU, which represents workers in Plantation Agriculture in the country has raised serious concerns over the matter and asked the government to intervene.
“KPAWU, which represents more than 400,000 workers in Plantation Agriculture in the country including tea, coffee and floriculture is deeply concerned and distressed by the action taken by a sisal farm associated with Baringo Senator Hon. Gedion Moi to lock-out all its 324 employees from the farm despite an existence of a court order restraining the management of the farm from taking such action,” the Union said in a statement on Thursday.
“It is absurd that the management of Migotiyo Plantation in Baringo County has forcefully and with impunity sacked these employees without any due regard to the existing Labour Laws, evicted their children from the farm and even followed them to the neighbouring schools and forced them out before proceeding to acclaim that the cited employees and their families are strangers.”
The Union said it filed a case at the Employment and Labour Relations Court, and prohibited the Company from terminating, evicting and denying essential services or shopping facilities to any employee.
KPAWU said that the management of the Company didn’t honour the court orders despite being served.
The Union said that attempts to drag the Education ministry into the eviction saga are simply diversionary, “since the officers from Ministry of Education have no powers whatsoever to evict the employees and their families from the school compound where they have gone to seek alternative shelter after the management of Migotiyo farm evicted them from the farm.”