Senators will conduct impromptu inspections at various flower farms to verify alleged sexual harassment, poor remuneration and handling of harmful chemicals by workers.
The Senate Standing Committee on Labour and Social Welfare made the declaration after listening to submissions by two former employees of Homegrown Flamingo Holdings Flower Farm and Aquilla Flower Farm.
Committee chairman Stewart Madzayo told the petitioners that senators would plan how to visit the flower farms unannounced to confirm or dismiss the serious allegations in the petition. “We have heard you and I think we need to visit the farms impromptu,” Mr Madzayo said.
Nominated senator Martha Wangari, who conveyed the petition to the Senate last October, said the management of the accused flower farms should be invited to rebut the serious allegations raised by the petitioners.
“We have heard the petitioners and the burden is now on the employers to rebut the petitioners’ claims. We need to see some of these greenhouses and working conditions.
We need to visit a few of these farms that have been named for us to make recommendations based on what we see and what the petitioners have told us,” she said.
The petitioners, Henry Onyango Adhiambo and Ken Mbugua Macharia, claimed the management of the farms forced workers to enter greenhouses sprayed with harmful chemicals without the recommended timelines lapses.
“Contrary to a policy where greenhouses should remain sealed for some time, say 12 hours after each chemical spray, the two farms in Naivasha sub-county have been violating the provision,” Mr Onyango said in the petition.
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