Companies

Dismissed staff of Chandaria firm seeking Sh145 mn payout

Dhiren

DHIREN CHANDARIA. PHOTO | FILE | NMG

Over 100 former employees of industrial chemicals manufacturer Orbit are demanding over Sh145 million in terminal dues for illegal sacking.

The 117 axed employees of the firm owned by relatives of billionaire industrialist Manu Chandaria — Dhiren, Ashok and Sachen — say in the case filed at the Employment and Labour Relations Courts that they were not given prior notices before being relieved their duties.

Dhiren Chandaria is the manufacturer's chief executive.

According to the filing by lawyer Titus Koceyo, the claimants state that Orbit Chemicals engaged an employment agency, Insight Management Consultants Ltd, in 2008 to recruit them.

Mr Koceyo avers that Insight Management purported to employ the claimants and drew contracts of employment for varying periods.

Although the contracts were drawn by Insight, the claimants say they were engaged in employment with Orbit Chemicals at its Mombasa Road complex.

“The conduct and employment practice visited upon the claimants by Orbit and Insight amounts to a fraudulent collusion and unfair labour practice to deny them their labour rights illegally and an attempt to circumvent and oust the provisions of the employment Act,” Mr Koceyo states in his papers.

The former workers say its against the spirit of labour laws for their employer to assign its statutory duty of drawing their contracts of employment to a third party which later unlawfully sacked them without any compensation.

“The contractual letters to the 117 workers were issued by an employment agency (Insight) instead of Orbit Chemicals were they were rendering their services,” the filing says.

“It was illegal and unfair for Orbit Chemicals Industries to delegate Insight Management Consultants Ltd the duty of renewing the claimants employment status to evade the requirements of the Employment Act.”

The former staff allege that Insight renewed their contracts time and again whenever they complained until August 22, 2016 when they were sacked unlawfully without being paid terminal dues.

READ: Court orders Jade Collections to pay sacked staff Sh2.77m

Tough economic times

They say they were declared redundant with Orbit citing decline of work volume and harsh economic times.

For the unfair labour practise each of the 117 employees is seeking a compensation of Sh1million besides other demands.

They are urging the court to compel Orbit to pay them Sh145,303,353 plus interest at 20 per cent.

Orbit and Insight who have been named as defendants have been given 15 days to file evidence in the industrial dispute.

The company was established in 1972 and produces industrial chemicals which it then sells to other manufacturers.

READ: Orbit Chemical wants solicitor-general jailed over Sh11.4bn court award

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