Over five in 10 employees in the manufacturing sector earn below the recommended minimum wage of Sh13,572 per month, according to the reports.
The report revealed by Open Society says that 51 percent of staff are paid between Sh500 to 600 per day, representing Sh12,000 monthly.
“Forty-two percent of the respondents said they work hard eight to nine hours a day, with two 10-15 minute breaks and get no compensation for the extra hours,” the report said.
While 29 percent received personal protection equipment (PPE) with 71 percent did not get them and is they were provided, they were made to pay for it.
“Only 40 percent of the casual workers we spoke to had any form of basic insurance cover. This, coupled with the other issues highlighted, adds to the undue pressure and discomfort that the workers have to live through,” the report said.
According to the data collected at Industrial Area’s Enterprise Road, 95 percent of the male complained of discrimination while only five percent of women did the same.
“The few women respondents expressed concerns about sexism, sexual harassment, and the heavy manual nature of work that makes it difficult for them to work in the sector,” it adds.
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The report also revealed that most companies contravene the Kenya Employment Act (CAP 226), which forces employees to hire casual permanently if they have worked at the company for an extended period of time.
“All of the workers we interviewed are aware of the Central Organisation for Trade Unions, but they had no idea what it does for them – even though some of them claimed that a deduction made on their pay goes to the union.
“In fact, most of the workers deemed themselves not to be unionized because unions could endanger their livelihood,” the report added.
