Workers employed by Joymaxc Enterprises, a cleaning services company operating at KenGen’s Sondu Miriu facility in Western Hydros, have spoken about recurring delay in payment of their salaries, with an employee stating that workers had reached the 18th of the month without receiving their previous month's wages and that those who question the delays are threatened with dismissal.

The employee, whose identity has been withheld for obvious reasons, says the problem is not happening for the first time and has become a source of serious financial pressure for workers who depend on their monthly wages to pay rent, support their families and meet other obligations.

The complaint has now taken on an even more urgent tone because two members of the workforce are dealing with bereavement at the same time that their colleagues are struggling to access salaries they say are already overdue, with one worker having lost a colleague who is due to be buried in three days and another having lost his father, whose burial was last week.

The employee says the situation has become particularly difficult for workers who have children preparing to join university at the end of the week and for those who have rent and other household expenses to meet.

For low income workers who depend almost entirely on their monthly salary, a delay of several weeks is not simply an inconvenience. It can mean rent arrears, unpaid school fees, inability to travel for family emergencies and the inability to contribute towards funeral expenses when a colleague or family member dies.

The original complaint received by our desk ¶

"Hello Nyakundi, I'm an employee of Joymaxc enterprises, a cleaning service provider at KenGen based at sondu miriu branch (Western hydros). Imagine today is 18th and we haven't received our last month's salary and this is not the first time this is happening, whenever we try complaining we are threatened that we'll be sacked and to make matters worse, we recently lost one of our fellows who will be buried in three days time and again one of us lost his dad who'll be buried tomorrow. Most of us pay rent and some even have kids joining campus by end of this week. We are suffering 😭.. kindly help us in tagging the responsible ministries and officials... ID tupa mbali"

The Employment Act also requires an employer to pay the entire amount of wages earned by an employee in respect of work done under a contract of service.

The law also gives labour officers powers to demand wage sheets and employment records from employers, inspect employment records and investigate whether labour laws are being complied with.

KenGen should be able to clarify the nature of its contractual relationship with Joymaxc, the services being provided and whether there are mechanisms for ensuring that contracted workers are treated in accordance with labour law.

If Joymaxc is receiving payments from KenGen for services while its employees are going unpaid, there is a straightforward question for both organisations. Are the payments under the cleaning services contract being made on time, and if so, why are the workers allegedly not receiving their salaries when due?

If KenGen is paying its cleaning contractor as agreed, why are workers at Sondu Miriu saying they are repeatedly going without their salaries, and who is responsible for making sure the money reaches the people who actually do the work?