Disturbing reports have emerged from frontline merchandisers working under a third-party agency contracted by Bidco Africa, one of the country’s largest consumer goods companies.
The complaints, raised by employees through confidential communication, paint a picture of systemic exploitation, delayed payments, lack of transparency, and administrative manipulation, all under the watch of a recruitment agency operating under the name Zayn Agency.
Workers have described a deeply flawed employment model where the agency allegedly deducts working days without just cause, often relying on the manipulation or selective interpretation of data logged into a merchandising app used to monitor daily assignments.
These deductions reportedly affect not only the monthly income of employees but also undermine their confidence in the fairness and accountability of the system managing them.
The complaints extend beyond payroll manipulation.
The agency has reportedly developed a pattern of delayed salary payments, causing extensive strain among workers whose livelihoods depend on timely compensation.
This chronic delay is further compounded by the agency’s reported failure to issue P9 tax forms, a mandatory document that allows workers to comply with Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) regulations. The absence of these forms not only violates standard employment practices but also places employees at legal and financial risk.
There are additional claims of a possible internal conflict of interest, with information suggesting that the agency has undisclosed links to individuals within Bidco’s internal structure.
This raises broader questions about governance, oversight, and ethical responsibility in subcontracted labour arrangements.
Furthermore, a growing disconnect appears to exist between the amount Bidco is believed to allocate for the staffing of merchandising roles and the reduced earnings that reach the actual workers.
This gap points to a serious discrepancy in wage flow, potentially amounting to wage skimming, an issue that strikes at the heart of fair labour practices.
“Good morning, Mr. Cyprian Nyakundi. I have a problem concerning a company called Bidco Kenya, and I kindly request that you keep my name and identity confidential for my own safety. If my identity is exposed, I could lose my job and right now, I have nowhere else to go. Bidco works with an outsourcing agency called Zayn Agency, which handles merchandising for their products. This agency has been deducting employees’ working days without valid reasons. The workers have no say in the matter, and even if they notice the irregularities, there’s nothing they can do about it. We use a merchandising app to log in and out at the various outlets we’re assigned to each day. However, the system is often manipulated, and the agency uses this as a reason to deduct days unfairly. There is a lot of suspicious activity going on within Zayn Agency. First, they pay workers very late. Second, they refuse to provide P9 forms, which are required for us to file tax returns with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). Despite this, they still deduct our working days. I urge you to tag Bidco Kenya in your report because they may not be aware of what the agency is doing on the ground. Although we hear rumors that the agency might be connected to someone within Bidco itself, we’re not certain. There also seems to be a big difference between what Bidco is paying for our work and what we actually receive as merchandisers.”
Despite Bidco’s prominent position in the manufacturing and distribution landscape, the management of outsourced labour under Zayn Agency now threatens to undermine the company’s public image and its compliance with national labour standards.
These developments highlight the broader risks of poorly regulated third-party staffing models, where oversight is minimal and worker protections are tenuous at best.
The employees are now calling for immediate intervention by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection to investigate the agency’s practices, enforce accountability and implement safeguards that ensure dignity, fairness and transparency in all subcontracted employment arrangements.
We will also continue to pursue the full scope of this developing story as we seek to uncover the underlying structures enabling these exploitative practices, gather further testimonies from affected workers, and shed light on the systemic failures that allow such conditions to persist unchecked.
Are you currently working under similar conditions or have insight into how these operations are being run?
We are looking to hear directly from employees who can help us build a more complete understanding of what’s happening on the ground.
Reach out to us in confidence through our secure channels if you have information, experiences, or documentation that could support this ongoing investigation.
