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Reprieve for Karuturi staff in housing row

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A greenhouse at Karuturi flower farm. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Hundreds of employees of Karuturi Flower Farm have a reason to smile after the Employment and Labour Relations Court temporarily stopped the firm’s receiver managers from evicting them from staff houses in Naivasha.

The flower farm, which has been under receivership since 2014, had given the workers one week to leave the staff houses or be evicted.

However, the employees, through the Kenya Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union, sued the firm to challenge the vacation notice.

Justice Monica Mbaru issued the orders stopping the evictions pending the hearing and determination of the case. “A temporary order is hereby issued restraining the Karuturi Ltd by themselves or agents from evicting and or renting out any of the staff houses belonging to its former employees,” ruled the judge.

In the case filed on July 23, the union has accused the company of evicting them from its staff quarters and renting out the premises.

Through an affidavit by the union’s organising secretary, Mr Henry Omasire, the workers said the houses have been legally occupied by the employees even before the company was put under receivership.

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The court heard that the company's actions to evict the workers and rent out their houses as winding up procedures were unlawful. “The respondents have defied all efforts by the claimants to cease evictions and renting out the staff quarters,” he said.

PricewaterhouseCoopers was temporarily appointed on April 5, 2016 as the liquidator of the firm to safeguard the assets during the period of winding up.

Mr Omasire said the workers are likely to suffer grave prejudice should the company be allowed to force them out of the houses.

The case will be mentioned on September 20.