This archive report was first published on 11 December 2019.
Published on December 11, 2019, a court in Kisumu has taken a significant step in protecting the rights of former employees of the collapsing Botswana-based Choppies Supermarket.
Kisumu Senior Principal Magistrate Robinson Ondieki has ordered the supermarket to deposit Sh7 million as a guarantee should the firm exit the country without paying their dues.
The court ruling comes after former employees moved to court seeking payment of their redundancy fees, which amount to Sh12.5 million.
According to an employee, the company's management hasty decision to issue the termination letter before meeting the union leadership was questionable.
Choppies had argued that through a meeting on October 7, the two parties entered an agreement to pay the claimants a terminal benefit on redundancy and terminal dues through Barclays Bank.
However, the court has ordered Choppies to deposit the Sh7 million as a guarantee, pending the outcome of the case, which will be heard on January 13, 2020.
