More Job Losses As Mumias Sugar Company Fires All Employees

Mumias Sugar Company has fired all its employees, adding to the long list of once vibrant firms that have fired all or reduced their workforce to cut on their costs.

Mumias Sugar was placed under receivership by Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) after it failed to settle the loan it owes the bank and with no hope of making profits any time soon.

Mumias Sugar, the once giant sugar producer in Kenya and East Africa has been ailing, making losses in tunes of billions of shillings, forcing the government to go for its “rescue”, but nothing tangible has ever come out of the said “rescue” mission.

“Any payment to the affected employees shall be dealt with in accordance with the provision of the law,” read part of the notice sent by the receiver-manager Ponangipalli Venkata Ramana Rao.

But according to Kenya Sugar Workers Union, the receiver-manager violated Labor Laws by firing the employees without prior notice. According to the union, employees of Mumias Sugar Company are owed more than 1.8 billion shillings in arrears by the company.

“All statutory deductions together with other payroll deductions amount to over 859 million shillings and they have not been remitted,” said branch secretary Mr. Vitalis Makokha.

In a period of fewer than three months, more than 4,000 Kenyans have lost their jobs as companies continue to wind up their businesses or cutting down on their workforce due to the ongoing unfavorable business environment.

Last month, there were speculations that SportPesa, the giant gaming company that had sent home more than 400 of its employees (100 percent) was planning to make a comeback, only to turn out that it was “firing the employees officially.”

The government has remained mute on the ongoing job losses that are now sending chills down the spines of many Kenyans.