Mumias Sugar Company Workers Send A Plea To Government

Employees of Mumias Sugar Company are appealing to the government to come to their aid as they have gone without pay for about 30 months.

The Secretary of the Kenya Union of Sugar Plantation and Allied Workers Mumias branch Mr Vitalis Makokha said that the workers had suffered a lot for the last four years when the company started experiencing financial problems.

Mr Makokha who was talking to KNA at the Company offices in Mumias today said that most of the workers are not able to meet their financial obligations like paying fees for their children and paying medical bills due to failure by the company to pay them.

He noted that the company had been a good employee for many years but the financial constraints facing it had made the workers lead desperate lives without any other source of income to meet their daily needs.

Makokha who was accompanied by other Union officials said that some of the workers had given up hope as the living conditions at the company houses had become unbearable as they lack adequate water and electricity.

He noted that the staff had worked diligently over the years putting the company as the one of the best in the country and called on the government to assist in the revival of the company which has since been put under receivership.

 A spot check by KNA to the company found most of the offices deserted with only a few workers in the compound.

The Acting CEO Mr. Chris Obuti said they were waiting for an official communication on the way forward from the board of management.

A section of leaders in the area has appealed to the government to assist the company for the sake of farmers who rely on the sugarcane sector for survival.

The company has about 400 permanent workers and over 300 contracted ones. It also contracts over 10,000 workers to cut cane in the nuclear and other farms leased to the factory.

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