Wage Stagnation Affecting Graduate Employees Sparks Outcry at Jaswant Rai-Owned Sukari Industries Ltd

Employees at Sukari Industries Limited in Homa Bay County have raised complaints over stagnant wages and employment conditions, alleging that salaries have remained unchanged since 2021 despite long service periods and rising living costs within the sugar manufacturing sector.

Sukari Industries Limited is a private sugar producer based in Ndhiwa Sub-county, Homa Bay County, and is owned by the Rai Group under businessman Jaswant Rai.

The factory, commissioned in 2011, operates a large milling facility supported by thousands of outgrower farmers across western Kenya and forms part of the group’s wider sugar production and expansion network in the country.

Workers say employees in the agricultural department, many of them graduates and diploma holders, continue to earn low monthly net pay, with no salary review or increment since 2021, a situation they describe as increasingly difficult amid current economic pressures.

The employees further claim that statutory deductions continue to be applied on their salaries over the same period, arguing that take-home pay has remained low despite government pronouncements aimed at easing financial pressure on low-income earners.

They also say the combination of stagnant pay and deductions has reduced their disposable income over time.

According to the workers, there has been no structured salary progression system that reflects experience gained, qualifications attained, or years of service, leaving long-serving staff on the same pay scale as new entrants.

The grievance also points to broader concerns over working conditions in the agricultural section, where employees say productivity demands have increased without corresponding adjustments in compensation or benefits.

The workers are now calling on the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection to review employment practices at the factory and determine whether wage structures comply with fair labour standards within the sector.

"Hello Nyakundi. There is this factory called Sukari Industries Ltd. I work there as an employee. Since 2021 there has not been any salary increment. They still deduct tax against the President’s directive. Over those years, our pay remains the same. Imagine graduates and diploma holders earning KSh 16,000 net per month in the agricultural department. Kindly let it reach the Labour Department but hide my identity because I still work with them."