Companies

Tuskys staff in Nairobi and Kisii stage demos

Employees of Tuskys Supermarket staged protests in Nairobi and Kisii counties Wednesday morning. In the capital city, they were seen chanting while carrying placards demanding salary dues owed to them.

In Kisii, staff from two of the retailer’s branches protested termination of their contracts and three months’ unpaid salaries.

They marched in Kisii streets expressing their frustration and demanded that the company settles their arrears soon.

They said the management had informed them that they should wait until February 2021 to be paid all their dues.

They said they were not opposed to termination of their contracts.

“Over 1,800 employees have been affected by sackings in all their branches countrywide,” said Mr Sammy Chesire, a representative of the Kisii employees.

He said termination of their contracts came even after they agreed to take pay cuts.

“We were told the amount was to be used to cushion us against Covid-19, but we have been forced to purchase face masks and sanitisers for ourselves,” said Mr Chesire.

Mr Robert Omondi, another employee, spoke of untold suffering in the wake of Covid-19 as some staff were forced out of their homes due to rent arrears.

“This is despite dutifully reporting to work daily,” he said.

tuskys

Employees of Tuskys branches in Kisii protest termination of their contracts and three months' unpaid salary on September 30, 2020. PHOTO | RUTH MBULA | NMG

Mounting woes

The demos in Nairobi and Kisii are a continuation of the woes the supermarket is facing. 

Mid this month, tens of non-unionised workers contracted to Tuskys protested what they termed as “inhumane dismissal” and failure by the ailing retailer to make a firm commitment on their severance pay.

The workers, belonging to three outsourcing firms -- Artemis, Amicum, and Qrisha -- stormed the company’s offices at Kimathi House, Nairobi, demanding salary arrears for the months of July and August, as well as one month's pay for September in lieu of termination notice.

Also, an undisclosed number of non-unionised workers were issued with termination letters with promises to settle their salary arrears at the end of September.

The financially troubled Tuskys has not paid thousands of its direct and outsourced employees for the months of July and August with salary arrears topping an estimated Sh320 million.

In addition to the workers’ protests, auctioneers have put up for sale merchandise at the Tuskys Greenspan Mall in Nairobi’s Doonholm area to recover rent arrears.

The troubled retailer, which is operated by Tusker Mattresses Ltd, has sacked tens of workers and shut down branches in Kenya, as the cash flow crisis at the retail chain persists.

Kenya Power also disconnected electricity supply to a number of branches that have fallen behind in paying their bills, and these are now having to run on diesel generators.

Rescue deal

Last month, the retailer said it had signed an agreement with an undisclosed Mauritius-based fund for Sh2 billion capital injection to help address its financial woes.

The much-needed funding is expected to ease pressure on its operations as well as placating suppliers who had stopped servicing the firm, leading to stockouts and closure of some of its branches.