Claims of widespread mistreatment have emerged from workers in the merchandising and promotions sector, who say they are routinely underpaid, overworked and subjected to exploitative conditions by marketing agencies contracted by major FMCG companies.
According to complaints received, agencies often promise high monthly salaries but end up disbursing meagre amounts. Kenyan merchandisers speak out on poor pay, long hours, and abuse by marketing agencies contracted by major FMCG companies.
Workers also describe being forced to operate under intense pressure, including on public holidays, without reimbursements for work-related expenses and with threats of dismissal if they question delayed payments or decline unviable assignments.
The allegations further point to systemic abuse where agencies allegedly inflate workforce numbers with ghost workers, enabling companies to believe they are adequately staffed while frontline teams remain stretched, micromanaged, and poorly compensated. "Hi Cyprian, kindly hide my ID. There are marketing agencies that source workers for companies, mostly in FMCG (merchandising, promotions). Companies enter into contracts with them where they purport to pay workers, say, 30k or even 40k monthly and end up paying them 12k per month under very harsh conditions. Some work even on holidays with zero reimbursements and even sometimes get fired for complaining or for refusing to attend to outlets because of delayed payments by the agencies. These agencies should be stopped or regulated because they end up sourcing cheap labor for these big companies to work for them. They claim to help them cut costs, but to what extent? Why would companies opt to go to agencies to manage their workers, who end up harassing and undermining them, claiming to cut costs and micromanaging them, while in reality, they are only sourcing cheap labor and people they can frustrate? They work long odd hours, long routes, and still have delayed allowances and pay every month. They claim to have workers, yet they are ghost workers, and companies think they have enough workers. Help expose these marketing agencies Cyprian. Merchandisers in Kenya deserve better remuneration and better working conditions. They deserve better from these companies."