This archive report was first published on 10 May 2020.
On Friday, Dock Workers Union (DWU) officials, including Chairman Mohammed Sharia and Secretary General Simon Sang, addressed journalists at the union's offices in Mombasa, warning of plans to privatize the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA).
The DWU has expressed opposition to the privatization and outsourcing of labor to private firms, particularly at berths 4 and 7. According to Sang, workers from private firms with ill-equipped uniforms have taken over errands in an area that handles corrosives, posing a risk to workers' safety.
The union has given KPA management 21 days to improve the work environment or face both legal and industrial action. DWU officials have also raised concerns over the KPA's decision to have COVID-19 patients admitted at Coast General Hospital instead of designated hospitals.
Chairman Mohammed Sharia claimed that 18 COVID-19 patients from KPA had been dumped at Coast General Hospital and issued a 24-hour ultimatum for the patients to be transferred to designated hospitals. He recommended that all sick KPA employees and their dependents be treated at Mombasa, Pandya Memorial, and Jocham hospitals.
However, KPA Principal Public Relations Officer Hajji Masemo denied the allegations, stating that the issue of privatization constitutes government policy and KPA is not in a position to comment on it. He also claimed that KPA employees were only taken to Coast General Hospital during the mass testing for COVID-19 at the port and most of them have since been discharged.
According to Masemo, some designated hospitals took advantage of COVID-19 and charged KPA workers up to Sh40,000 per day for accommodation alone and additional costs for medical gowns, masks, and treatment.
