Workers at Eurocraft Agencies Limited, a licensed ground handling company operating at both Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Moi International Airport, report that conditions have worsened despite earlier exposure of exploitative practices, painting a grim picture of an organization where employees feel trapped, undervalued and unprotected.
The company, which has been operating since its incorporation in 1993 and licensed by the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) in 1994, is responsible for essential airport services including aircraft loading, passenger handling, cabin grooming, and executive flight support and employs over 300 staff.
Despite its crucial role in ensuring smooth airport operations and its membership in the International Ground Handling Council, employees describe a workplace environment marked by inadequate pay, arbitrary deductions, delayed salaries, and a systemic disregard for labor standards that leave workers financially vulnerable and psychologically strained.
The grievances raised by employees cover a wide spectrum of exploitation.
Staff report that their monthly pay, often as low as Ksh 10,000, is subject to frequent and harsh deductions, sometimes leaving them with barely half of their expected income.
Deductions are imposed even when absences are communicated in advance, and employees describe situations where attending approved leaves or training sessions results in financial penalties.
While initial training and certifications should be provided free of charge, employees are now reportedly required to pay fees to obtain certificates, while requests for recommendation letters necessary to move to other companies are routinely denied, effectively limiting professional growth and trapping workers within the company.
A follow-up report from insiders indicates that conditions have deteriorated further since the initial exposure of malpractices.
Workers report being coerced into taking on backup shifts, which are inadequately compensated at as little as 30 shillings per hour, often without transport or support, making the shifts financially unviable.
Refusal to participate in these shifts reportedly results in warning letters and arbitrary salary deductions, creating a climate of fear and forced compliance.
Leave entitlements, which should allow employees at least 21 working days off, are reportedly withheld unless staff remain employed for years, while unpaid or underpaid salaries continue to create financial instability.
The follow-up grievances also reveal deeply troubling allegations of sexual coercion, where female employees are reportedly forced to engage in sexual acts under threat of suspension or confiscation of their work permits.
Employees who attempt to seek redress from the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) say their complaints have been ignored, leaving them without institutional support or protection, and further entrenching their sense of vulnerability and helplessness.
The personal toll of these exploitative practices is profound. Workers struggle to afford basic needs for themselves and their families, with some unable to seek medical care or provide for their children.
Previous reporting had highlighted a tragic case of a worker who passed away after being unable to access treatment or food due to withheld salaries and insiders now report that such instances are increasingly common, reflecting a pattern of neglect and disregard for employee welfare.
The financial strain, coupled with the constant pressure to comply with exploitative rules and the threat of punitive measures, has created a climate of stress, anxiety, and depression across the workforce.
The ongoing abuses at Eurocraft Agencies Limited expose systemic weaknesses in labor oversight and accountability at the airports.
The company operates under the purview of the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) employees report that repeated appeals for intervention, assistance, and protection have gone unanswered, suggesting institutional indifference to worker welfare and the perpetuation of exploitative practices.
Employees continue to perform essential tasks that keep the country’s busiest airports operational but their sacrifices remain largely invisible and unrewarded, exposing a critical gap between the services they provide and the treatment they receive.
This follow-up report underscores that the grievances previously brought to public attention have not only persisted but have intensified, with new forms of abuse compounding the already difficult working conditions.
The combination of withheld salaries, coercion, inadequate compensation, and unsafe working environments paints a bleak picture of a workforce left to struggle in silence while performing duties that carry major risk and responsibility.
The situation at Eurocraft Agencies Limited continues to demand urgent attention from regulatory authorities, labour oversight bodies, and the broader public, as the employees remain trapped in conditions that compromise their wellbeing, dignity, and livelihood.
“Hello Cyprian. There was a time we highlighted the issue of Eurocraft Agencies Limited manipulating their workers. How is it possible someone is working for Ksh 300 but you are deducted Ksh 2,000 for the same day, yet you communicated to them earlier that you would be unable to come? Salary increment was discussed from the time we exposed them, giving them a period of three months to decide on how much they would increase, but up to now nothing has been done; instead, deductions are now harsh. Your monthly pay is Ksh 10,000, but you are left with Ksh 6,000 in your account because of unnecessary deductions. Before you are employed, you have to go for training and be issued certificates free of charge, but in this case, we are not issued those certificates, and if you demand one, you will have to pay for it. Then, when you want to progress to a different company, you are required to provide a recommendation letter from them, which they will refuse to give. On the issue of leave allowance, you are supposed to be entitled to 21 working days of leave, but here you are forced to work for at least three years before being given those 21 days. Backups are meant to boost your income, but for them, they do not care; yet you are forced to remain for such backups, only to be paid Ksh 30 for all those hours with no transport, yet those hours’ bus fares may cost at least Ksh 100, so we are working on a negative budget. If you refuse to do those backups, you are issued warning letters and deducted Ksh 2,000 for the same. Now leaders are forcing female workers to be their sex workers, and if they refuse, they are suspended and their work passes taken from them. They keep on saying there is nowhere else we will get them. Please help expose this company so they may be assisted in some way. Hide my identity.”
