Over 300 Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) workers paralyzed transport on the Mai-Mahiu - Narok Road as they protested against poor working conditions.
The workers demanded that the contractor and the Government address their concerns immediately, barely a week after 2 workers in the area died after a section of the railway collapsed.
The protesting employees demanded that a bus be acquired to ferry them to the site instead of the open-top truck they have been using which that they claim has led to them getting chest complications.
“We have complained for long over the poor means of transport, but the Chinese contractor has ignored our pleas, hence the strike," a worker only identified as Wakaba explained.
They called for the government to intervene, claiming that the Chinese contractor had totally ignored them.
[caption caption="President Uhuru Kenyatta inspecting a section of the SGR"]
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"We are exposed to many dangers as it was proven two weeks ago and we are asking the Ministry of Labour to intervene so the issue of safety can be addressed,” Wakaba stated.
He noted that the deaths of their co-workers had affected their morale and affirmed that the issues behind the deaths needed to be addressed.
Naivasha Sub-County Commissioner Isaac Masinde confirmed the strike, announcing that a meeting had been set up between the workers and the relevant stakeholders.
He further supported calls for the open trucks to be dumped, stating that the area had a lot of dust.
“It’s true that area has a lot of dust and the workers deserve to be transported using a better mode of transport and this has been resolved,” Masinde explained.
[caption caption="Tsavo Bidge section of the SGR"]
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