Reports emerging from Kisauni Vocational Training Centre, formerly known as Kisauni Youth Polytechnic, have drawn attention to a series of grievances raised by some workers and interns attached to the public technical institution in Mombasa, casting a spotlight on the conditions under which a section of its workforce and trainees operate.
The complaints describe non-payment or delayed payment of salaries and wages, with workers discharging their duties diligently without receiving their expected remuneration on schedule, a situation that has left them in a state of financial uncertainty.
A further issue points to harassment and intimidation of workers who raise questions about payment and working conditions, with claims that some of those who dare to speak up have subsequently had their employment terminated, a sequence that suggests a retaliatory impulse rather than a commitment to resolving disputes through established channels.
The matter also extends to the institution's internship programme, where interns are described as undertaking their assigned duties and contributing to operations without receiving any internship allowance or other agreed support, a situation that blurs the line between training and unpaid labour.
The institution, established in 1968 and registered by the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority, sits 100 meters along the Mombasa-Malindi highway at the VOK Stage and trains over 350 students across disciplines spanning building and civil engineering, electrical and electronics, hospitality, ICT, and garment making.
Workers and interns behind are now calling for an independent investigation into the treatment of staff and trainees at the institution and for those responsible to be held to account.
