Following our expose’ on the mistreatment of their staff at the Standard Gauge Railways (SGR) yesterday. More revelations of exploitation, discrimination and corruption have emerged.
Kenyan employees at the overrated railways continue to suffer as the likes of Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia continue to sit easy in their ivory towers.
One day, a violent rebellion will caught the government flat-footed.
Read below.
Hi Sir,
Am happy to see the expose on the rot in SGR.
Thanks a lot.
Am one of those affected, In fact it is demoralizing.
I was marked absent on the job card while I was in Port Reitz depot, within the company premises, and most painfully preparing to take another train heavily loaded to Nairobi terminus.
Over Ksh. 4 million in paid transportation fees and billions of money in transported goods in containers from SGR customers.
Absent from work? Really?. Which is the same as am at my house in Nairobi or otherwise home running my own “business “.
All my hard work is not paid for.
Shamefully, that at the end of the month, I am given a job card to sign my working hours with zero “0” overtime.
We can spend more than 3 days in the job, carrying our own food all through the work (3 or more days), one trip from Nairobi locomotive depot to Port Reitz depot and back, only to be paid 12hrs +12hrs =24hrs (only in the train, outside the train we are not paid) in the 3 or more days within the restrictions of the company and nature of the job as locomotive assistant drivers.
On arrival in Nairobi, we are exhausted, we need rest. It is painful that for this, we are not compensated. Instead we are threatened that we can be called anytime to report at work as it is the nature of this work.
We are henceforth slaving at the company, huwezi hata kuenda mbali na simu yako, (One can’t even sit far from their phone).
Going out of your house/ room for 2 hours is a crime. It is even traumatising going for long or short call. Because, if you are called and you fail to respond, you will be accused of negligence and forced to sign a warning letter.
CAPTION: Assistant Locomotive Drivers at the cockpit. The are exploited, lowly paid and abused.
We always live in fear, and no day can pass without us talking about the unfair practices done in this Chinese company and Kenya Railways at large.
Indeed, we have the “untouchables” in this company.
Let me pose a simple question, ‘as a driver, is it fair for me to carry my own food – as a baby to school – all through for more than 3 days?
Is it sound and fair for a driver to be used as a “toilet paper”? you are given the keys of a train to operate for an unknown time and condition from Nairobi to Port Reitz.
On reaching Port Reitz depot, after handing over the keys, you are out of payment or any compensation plan. One then waits for unknown period of time to be given keys. The vicious circle then repeats.
Is it hard to take care of train drivers, who I think are very important in the Railway sector?
Why are we punished this way? Where did we go wrong?
We can not even be given an off-day to meet a friend even in your own house, reason being, we don’t know when we are in the house or not!
And end month, our account reads only Ksh. 38,606 as net payment!
SGR train drivers are not paid much as Kenyans think. We are that well-off financially!
We are being tortured by the Chinese and our fellow Kenyan leaders.
We are fooled really.
Please hide my identity.
Thanks.
