Workers affiliated with a recruitment agency contracted to represent Bidco Africa have raised the alarm over alleged systemic exploitation and gross labour rights violations that continue to fester under the watch of one of East Africa’s most prominent FMCG giants.
The allegations are centred on Zian Recruitment and Consultancy Agency, a third-party firm reportedly tasked with handling merchandising roles for Bidco’s wide product portfolio across the retail landscape.
Despite Bidco’s stature as a reputable and fast-growing multinational headquartered in Thika, with a regional presence spanning 17 African countries and a workforce of over 25,000 employees, concerns are now mounting that its subcontracted agency is not only damaging workers’ livelihoods but also undermining the very standards the company claims to uphold.
At the heart of the grievances lies the use of a digital app that merchandisers are required to use daily to log in and log out of designated retail outlets.
This system, while ostensibly meant to track work attendance and productivity, has reportedly become a tool of manipulation.
Numerous workers claim that the agency arbitrarily deducts working days from their records, leading to unexplained salary reductions.
These deductions are said to occur without proper justification, appeal processes, or communication, leaving the affected staff powerless and demoralized.
The issue is compounded by persistent delays in salary payments, with workers alleging that the agency consistently pays them late, sometimes by weeks, creating serious challenges for employees who rely on these wages for daily survival.
Such delays have not only created anxiety among staff but have also eroded trust in the agency’s management practices.
Another major grievance centers on tax compliance and statutory obligations.
Workers claim that despite repeated requests, the agency has refused to provide essential tax documents such as the P9 form, which is necessary for annual tax filing with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).
This failure not only hampers employees’ ability to meet legal obligations but also raises questions about whether statutory deductions are being properly remitted, and if not, where the money is going.
There are also suspicions that the agency is not operating with full transparency when it comes to remuneration.
Reports suggest that the agency may be pocketing a significant portion of what Bidco pays for each worker, passing on only a fraction to the actual employees.
This discrepancy has led to growing frustration among merchandisers who feel shortchanged and exploited despite working long hours to support Bidco’s product visibility and sales in supermarkets, wholesalers, and retail outlets.
There is growing concern that Bidco may either be unaware of the scale of abuse taking place under the agency’s management or is choosing to turn a blind eye to the grievances of contract workers who serve on the front lines of their distribution network.
Some workers speculate that the agency’s operations may be linked to internal staff within Bidco itself, raising conflict of interest questions and potentially explaining the lack of accountability and oversight.
“Hi Cyprian. I have a problem with this company called Bidco Kenya. Please hide my name and ID because naeza futwa kazi na sina place ya kwenda for now. Now wako na agency inajiita Zian Recruitment and Consultancy Agency which deals with merchandising of Bidco products, yenye kazi yao ni kudeduct watu working days for no good reasons tu coz workers hawana say and workers will do nothing about it.. So there is that app we use ya merchandising. You log in and log out kwa given outlets zenye mtu amekuwa allocated per day. So wako na a lot of ukora inaendelezwa na hiyo Agency by the name of Zayn Agency. First, inalipa workers late sana… Second thing, kampuni inafaa kuprovide workers P9 ya ku-file returns. They refused with them… na bado ndo hao wana deduct watu working days zao… Kindly hide my ID coz ya job security yangu. Please tag Bidco company coz wanaeza kuwa hawajui what the Agency is doing. Though tunasikianga Agency ya one of the Bidco staff bado… So ile malipo Bidco wanalipia staff ni tofauti na yenye inafikia merchandisers.”
While Bidco continues to promote its image as a company committed to ethical business, these unresolved human resource concerns cast a dark shadow over its operations.
Workers now believe that unless there is direct intervention from Bidco’s senior management, the agency will continue to operate with impunity, exploiting vulnerable employees under the guise of corporate outsourcing.
Industry stakeholders, labour rights bodies, and the Ministry of Labour must take a firm stand against opaque subcontracting arrangements that exploit workers behind the corporate veil.
Unless immediate corrective steps are taken, Bidco risks irreparable damage to its corporate reputation and social license to operate, especially as consumers grow more conscious of ethical sourcing and fair labour practices in the FMCG sector.
We will continue to monitor the situation closely, gather more testimonies from affected workers and escalate these concerns until transparency is achieved and accountability is enforced within Bidco’s subcontracting chain.
