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Workers at geothermal firm to get new perks

gdc

A Geothermal Development Company engineer monitors a well at Menengai, Nakuru. FILE PHOTO | NMG

After working for nearly a decade without clear terms of service, over 700 employees of Geothermal Development Company (GDC) will enjoy a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

This is the first time the management of the State-run corporation is sitting on a negotiating table with the Kenya Electrical Trade and Allied Workers Union (Ketawu), Geothermal branch.

The two parties signed the CBA after weeklong negotiations that ended at a Naivasha hotel on Saturday.

However, both parties did not divulge details of the CBA as the process to register it at the Industrial and Labour Relation court has not been completed.

The CBA will contain a new pay structure, allowances, medical scheme and procedure of settling labour disputes.

During the negotiations, the union was represented by branch secretary Michael Opiyo  and chairman Cyprian Masinde, while GDC was represented by Mr Simon Kiplang’at, the company’s general manager in charge of human resource.

READ: Geothermal firm to roll out Sh9bn power plant in Baringo

The negotiations were also attended by representatives of the Salary and Remuneration Commission (SRC) and the Federation of Kenya Employees.

Mr Opiyo said his union was happy with the way the GDC management had handled the negotiations.

However, the new CBA will be scrutinised by the company’s board of management and SRC before it is registered at the Industrial and Labour Relations court for implementation.