Tea farmers from the counties of Nyamira, Bomet, Kisii and Kericho on Friday, March 29, staged demonstrations in protest against salary delay.
While protesting, the employees demanded immediate disbursement of their dues which they claimed had been delayed for over 14 months.
According to the farmers, the tea factory management owes them up to Ksh100 million in payments further noting their cries had been ignored, forcing them to stage the demonstration.
The workers noted the factory management had on several occasions decided that they would receive their pending salaries but even after 14 months of going without salary, nothing substantial had been done.
They also accused the management of issuing them with fake cheques which they noted were rejected by the commercial banks.
"Since last year February, the farmers have not been paid, we have been making empty promises. They supply and they promise to pay us but when the time for payment comes, there is nothing," noted one of the protestors.
"When they refused to pay us, we attempted to negotiate with them for almost 8 months but in the end, they shut down the factory," claimed another farmer.
According to the farmers, they had even sought intervention from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) but nothing had since been done to help them receive their money.
The farmers have since issued a one-week ultimatum to the factory owners to ensure all the money is paid vowing not to relent until they receive the money.
The latest developments come weeks after correspondents attached to the Mediamax media issued a 24-hour ultimatum to its management to settle their pay arrears or else down their tools and embark on a strike.
Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ) Secretary General Erick Oduor revealed that some of the journalists' arrears dated back more than a year.
"We stand in solidarity with correspondents of a respected daily newspaper owned by the former first family, who have withdrawn their labour over non-payment of their dues for over 12 months," read the letter.
