Tuskys is in a fresh plan to send some of its employees home just four months after sending some staff home back in February.
The retailer’s plan to layoff some of its staff have been revealed in a court petition by Kenya Union of Commercial Food and Allied Workers (KUCFAW) where it is seeking to stop the supermarket from declaring 80 of its staff redundant.
“That pending hearing and determination of this matter, this honorable court be pleased to issue an order restraining the respondent from declaring eighty unionize employees redundant for reasons related to the Covid-19 pandemic,” the union said in a statement to the employment and labor relations.
The union also wanted the court to force the retailer to lay bare the selection criteria used in the redundancy process and follow the last in first out rule in the selection of the employees to be laid off.
Early this year, Tuskys fired some of its staff after a major restructuring in the organization which saw changes in various departments.
The retailer did not, however, reveal the number of employees it sent in February as it also declines to answer questions on its continuity as it faces unpaid supplier bills.
At the moment, the retailer is under investigation by the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) for possible buyer power abuses as it fails to pay its suppliers.
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Tuskys has blamed Covid-19 for its recent troubles and has so far closed three of its stores in Mombasa, Kitale, and Nairobi citing low customer footfalls.
CAK is seeking to compel the retailer to pay the debt it owes the suppliers and denies to buy the idea that the woes the retailer is facing have been caused by coronavirus pandemic.
“No retailer has submitted any document to the Authority showing that their current status has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. However, the documents under our custody show that most of Director-General Wang’ombe Kariuki said.
