A Kenyan engineer sued the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) over claims of underpayment after signing a contract with the company.
Cleophas Simiyu Nabangi claimed that the company underpaid him by almost Ksh400 million after allegedly being made to sign a contract that was written in Chinese.
Nabangi through his lawyer Arnold Otundo, argued that the company violated the engineer's rights by having a contract written in a foreign language and fair compensation.
According to Section 7(4) of the Employment Act 2018; "where an employee is illiterate or cannot understand the language in which the contract is written, or the provisions of the contract of service, the employer shall have the contract explained to the employee in a language that the employee understands".
Otundo further pointed out that Nabangi was denied access to the site after commencement of the project that facilitated the movement of trains as reported by Nation.
The lawyer highlighted that Nabangi's certificate continued to be retained and used for approvals with the regulators without his input.
The engineer had entered a contract with the CRBC as part of the team that was responsible for the electrical supply system that was part of a communication network for the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR.
The SGR electrical expert legal team had written to the China Communications and Construction Company (CCCC) which contracted CRBC, with the aim of taking legal action if Nabangi was not compensated the money and his certificate released.
The letter was also directed to the Transport ministry, Kenya Railways Corporation, the Energy Regulatory Commission and the Engineers Board of Kenya.
The Engineers Board of Kenya (EBK) guidelines explain that fees paid to consulting engineers for engineering systems should be remunerated at between 1 to 1.5 per cent of the cost of project.
Structural engineers are paid the highest at between 3 to 4.5 per cent of the cost.
