More than 200 labourers of Lake Agro Limited on Tuesday downed their tools to decry poor management by company’s leadership.
Simeon Obiero, who led the protests, said that a new manager (a foreigner) had been deployed to the farm under the instruction of West Kenya Sugar Management.
Consequently, the new manager had made major changes that had negatively affecting workers.
“We are shocked that the new manger who is barely three day old here has instructed the human resource manager to reduce our contract period from one year to one month,” Obiero said.
Obiero further explained that the said foreigner had instructed workers to clear a three-months-old sugarcane plantation in order to put the general manager Dev Devisso in a fix.
“His motive is I’ll since he intends to have the general manager shown the door.”
The protestors also suspect their salaries are to be involuntarily deducted purportedly to compensate for the destroyed cane.
“The Huma Resource department is deducting our pay due to the immature cane we harvested under the instructions of the new manager. We demand for his removal,” the said.
The protestors also want Lake Agro Limited to construct a sugarcane milling plant in the swamp.
The Jaswant Rai-owned company has been growing sugarcane in the wetland but processing their Sugar at Kabras in Western Kenya.
“The miller will create employment to idling energetic youth in our locality,” Obiero said.
We don’t want to see people assuming offices under the instruction of West Kenya Sugar Company, the striking workers said.
The workers handed over their grievances (petition) to the Human Resource Manager Moses Oduor.
Oduor assured the striking doctors that he would hand over their grievances to Devisso.
“We now have your grievances. I shall present them to the General Manager once he is back in office. I resolution will be communicated back to you,” said Oduor.