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"content": "Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I beg to move that The Labour Institutions (Amendment) Bill be now read a Second Time. I thank the Executive for reminding me that we are reading this Bill for the second time. I want, on the outset, to say that I have received a lot of communication from the Kenya Flower Council, in particular and individual farmers from all over the world. I have received heaps and heaps of communications. However, they all agree on one thing; that they are paying their workers over Kshs10,000. None of them admits that they are paying Kshs3,700, Kshs3,500 or Kshs3,200. So, they all admit that the way to go is for everybody to do a living wage. What is a living wage? A living wage is coined by the ethics which are drawn by the industry itself. These people met and set the minimum standards that somebody must meet in order to export flowers to the rest of the world. I thank Naivasha people because they produce 50 per cent of the world’s red roses daily, but at what price? For every banquet of flower one produces, the money is enough to pay a worker for a whole month. I do not want to say the whole story just in case you hate the roses because roses are very good flowers. When somebody buys you a rose, you find it to be a very good move. However, if you imagine that a worker produces 20 banquets and only one banquet pays the salary for the whole month--- I will table in this House some of the pay slips to prove that some people are paying Kshs110 per day. You will have to bear with me that we have to do these amendments so that we have the very minimum to conform to the industry; and that is Kshs10,000."
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"content": "(Mr. Mututho laid the documents on the Table)"
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Mututho",
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"content": "The other reason and I think hon. Members need to hear this; I will apologetically mention the name of the lady. A lady by the name Wanjiru was arrested last weekend and detained at Gilgil Police Station. Her crime was neglecting her children. Neighbours thought so. What they did not know was that Wanjiru is a single mother of four and she earns Kshs170 per day from one of the flower farms. So, when her children are crying because of food, they think she is neglecting them. The police took action and arrested Wanjiru and locked her up for neglecting children. I know and I can count them in 10,000, 15,000 and 30,000 workers. They are hearing this. They are in Naivasha now. There are workers who earn Kshs3,500 and Kshs3,700 and cannot afford sukuma wiki . They have to eat ugali with water with a bit of salt. This is a fact. The flower farmers know this and everybody knows this. It is easy to say that the minimum wage for farm workers is Kshs3,400 or Kshs3,500. However, in the farm, they get shelter, food, there is no transport, they get firewood and once in a while you give them about Kshs200 to go and buy panadol or malariaquine or whatever they need. That is a basic farm worker. However, when you are working in an industry like the flower farmers and you are paid Kshs3,700, and yet you have to get a house for yourself--- Like in the case of Naivasha, the minimum you can do is Kshs1,000. From there, you have to organize your school fees, medical and everything from that budget. If you look at the pay slips like the one for a very big farm called “ Bila Shaka Farm” you will find that the basic salary is Kshs5,000 and house allowance is Kshs1,500. At Aquila Farm, the basic salary is Kshs3,600 and the house allowance is Kshs1,500. Oserian are good, they pay a basic salary of Kshs8,722 and house allowance of Kshs1,500. That is already past the Kshs10,000 mark we are talking about plus free housing, transport and medical care. This is the case and yet they all deal with the same market. While we are still grappling with Kshs3,000, Kshs4, 000 or Kshs5, 000, I was in Israel last week. With the Chair’s permission, in Israel, we compete with them in the same market. Their salary is currently US$1,300 for a farm worker. That is the minimum you can pay and you must provide air conditioned rooms, free water, medical care, a washing machine and power. This is compulsory. The only thing they buy is food. If you calculate US$1,300, it is over Kshs100,000. Look at the case of Cecily Islands. It will work out to be the same. When we talk about the industry, they refer us to Ethiopia. Ethiopia is a very interesting country. They are our neighbours and we do not talk badly about our neighbours. They want our market but I was there too. If you look through the document, the flower farmers have been accused of retaining 97 per cent of the earnings abroad and, subsequently, the Government has banned individuals from owning foreign accounts. That is the Ethiopia that we are talking about. One of the companies there is Sher Agencies which are also domiciled in Naivasha. They are my friends and there is no such a danger of it going to Ethiopia. If it goes to Ethiopia, the conditions there will not be the same as Kenyan conditions. After lunch, Ethiopian workers have a siesta and may not wish to work in the afternoon. Many people are not interested in it because there are serious logistical problems. I travelled to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. I saw all those flower farms and also learnt how workers are treated. It is not out of rumours that I am saying this. I would like to invite the Departmental Committee on Labour and Social Welfare to visit people in Kabati in Naivasha Town at their appropriate time. They will see thousands of workers who sleep hungry and in cold. This is because they cannot afford to buy cooking gas. A 14- kilogramme cylinder is now retailing at Kshs3,700. How can a worker earning Kshs3,300 per month be able to buy it? This means over 100,000 workers will never use gas in their life time. Naivasha has a very fragile ecosystem. These workers will either use charcoal or firewood. We know very well that next year our Government will not allow use of paraffin in Kenya."
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"content": "It is a pity that over 100,000 workers who contribute about 10 per cent to our GDP will never use gas in their life time. At the moment, they are using paraffin to cook their meals. How do we expect them to work efficiently in floriculture industry if they eat ugali with salty water? Floriculture is a very hazardous business because strong chemicals are used. Most of Naivasha flower farms have funeral departments in their organisation. They organise funerals every weekend. Why do people have to die in these farms at that rate? It is because of cancer and other related conditions as a result of chemicals they inhale. Workers in these flower farms want to be paid a minimum wage of Kshs10,419. I am quoting from a letter written by one of them. He laments that they are not paid well. We are being accused of interfering with this industry, but workers themselves do not want to be paid Kshs110 paid per day. I would like to table this letter from Globe Limited."
},
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"text_counter": 389,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Mututho",
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"speaker": {
"id": 97,
"legal_name": "John Michael Njenga Mututho",
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"content": "( Mr. Mututho laid the document on the Table)"
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"id": 3136,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Mututho",
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"id": 97,
"legal_name": "John Michael Njenga Mututho",
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"content": "Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, if this Government was not in a deep slumber, it would have exploited the provisions of Section 44 of Labour Institutions Act. This section allows them to set up wage councils which will address wage paid to workers. It would have been good if the Minister had come and gazetted the floriculture workers council. Under Section 46, the Minister is supposed before gazettement of a notice and on advice of the various councils, to table it in Parliament. I have been in this House for the last four years, but I have never seen her table it. So, whatever is in force as Gazette Notice is an illegality, she did not comply with Section 46. So, the gazette notice is null and void."
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"id": 3137,
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"text_counter": 391,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Mututho",
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"id": 97,
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"content": "Madam Temporary deputy Speaker, I do not have to over- emphasize the fact that people who expect to be protected by the law must also respect it. I am glad that the Chair of the Departmental Committee on Labour and Social Welfare is here. I urge him to visit Israel and Ethiopia, among other countries, to see how much flower farm workers are paid. Here in Kenya, they are subjected to slavery wage. Whether we want to believe it or not, slavery exists in the flower farms. We want them to be paid is a living wage. This is so critical to any human being who is in this industry. We do not want to be told stories that housemaids are now paid Kshs18,000. Have we taken time to understand what kind of house girls we are talking about in the flower farms? The target for this particular industry is Kshs7,500. That should be the minimum amount they should earn. I also believe that no one should earn less than Kshs7,500. If we add other goodies, they should earn a minimum of Kshs12,000. However, some flower companies are paying workers a paltry Kshs3,300 per month. One of them is Sunbird Kenya Limited. This company is owned by our good friends from Israel. Two weeks ago, I was in Israel. Flower farm workers there are paid a salary of US$1,300. If you convert this into our currency, it is over Kshs100,000. If you see a pay slip of a flower worker in Kenya, it reads as follows:- It shows PIN Number, number of days worked and what he earns per day which is Kshs110 per day. He earns a salary of Kshs3,300 per month. It also shows house allowance of Kshs600, overtime at Kshs23.80 per hour or Kshs249.9 per month, NSSF and NHIF deductions of Kshs200 and Kshs120, respectively, welfare zero, extra advance zero, total deductions, Kshs320, net pay for the month is Kshs3,629.90. This is a worker in a flower farm owned by an Israeli who exports flowers. Who are our competitors? These are companies from Israel, South Africa and Latin America. If we are talking about the same market, even if we take advantage of air transport, they are paying their workers over Kshs100,000. How do we expect to compete with them when we are paying our workers Kshs3,300 per month? This is not fair. The other day, Naivasha Municipal Council constructed a mortuary for flower farms in Naivasha. Why? Because there are many deaths reported on daily basis. These deaths are not as a result of road accidents, but because of the chemicals used in flower farms. This was a gift. However, for a couple of years, the local people have refused to use it. If some people can give you a gift of a morgue, then something must be terribly wrong somewhere. Of course, there are companies, for example, Finlays who are paying their workers very well. Finlays is an international company. They are also compliant with all the statutes. However, all the cowboys of the flower farmers do not follow our 23 statutes, which are prescribed by this Parliament. But instead they follow their own statutes. It is sad that the Government allows them to exploit our people. So, the hon. Ministers present should check it out. Why do we pass laws here and allow some people to ignore them and use their own laws? Something is definitely not right."
},
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Mututho",
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"content": "We have had presentation from quite a number of people. One of them did challenge the legality of a Member of Parliament tabling a Private Members’ Bill. In a lengthy letter written by the Federation of Kenya Employers, they opposed us tabling Private Members’ Bills that would better the lifes of flower farm workers in this country. I want to educate and tell them that they are behind news. They do not know that we are in a new era and we have a new Constitution. They have no idea what a Bill and law are. If they did, they would not bother to give me a 10-page letter educating me on how to make laws. I am here because I am a Member of Parliament. As I have said before, a Member of Parliament has three basic functions. The first function is to represent the people. I am representing the people and saying that tonight some people can only afford flour, a bit of salt and water. Period! They will not have any other meal and there will be no breakfast tomorrow. I am here representing the people and saying the truth as it is in the flower farms."
},
{
"id": 3139,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Mututho",
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"speaker": {
"id": 97,
"legal_name": "John Michael Njenga Mututho",
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"content": "Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, the second function of a Member of Parliament is legislative; making laws. We can amend and appeal them as the Constitution requires. We do not have to ask for permission from FKE or, indeed, any other interested party on that particular function."
},
{
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"type": "speech",
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"content": "Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, the final function is that of oversight. The oversight function is where the Departmental Committee on Labour and Social Welfare comes in. I wish that they get and spare enough time, particularly when we go for vacations, so that before we come to the Committee Stage, they can verify to be able to see what these workers go through. I am saying this because it is one thing to say here that people are complaining and the economy will flop, but another thing altogether when newspapers screen headlines that the flower industry is avoiding to pay duty to an extent of Kshs42 billion. What is this salary increase? People are saying and nobody challenges them that Kenya is losing Kshs42 billion in tax that is supposed to be collected, but nobody bothers to follow on that particular aspect."
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