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"id": 220977,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/220977/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Weya",
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"speaker": {
"id": 304,
"legal_name": "Sammy Arthur Weya",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, one of the people who are really affected in this country, when it comes to labour laws, are farmers or who work in the agricultural sector. I am talking about sugar-cane cutters, coffee and tea pickers. These people go through some hazardous conditions. The same applies to the people who work in tobacco plantations. You will find them spraying the crops with dangerous chemicals, yet, he or she has no protective clothing, whatsoever. But, we look at them; we really do not care. This is a critical issue. One of the reasons why we are trying to create these institutions, is because, once created and they become functional, they will get rid of some of these anomalies. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have travelled around the world and seen what is happening in foreign countries. Kenya should imitate what the First World countries, because of the experiences that they have had over the years. In South Africa, I think the minimum wage paid to domestic servants is Kshs10,000 per month. In Kenya, you will find someone paying his or her worker Kshs1,500. This money cannot do much for anybody in this country, given the inflation that we are having. In Finland, even when the Government is making decisions for institutions, they all work together. They have a vote called Research and Development. Before they embark on anything, they involve the businessmen, politicians and trade unions. They call all the stakeholders and tell them: \"This is our vision.\" They do not want to see people, for example, the labour union officials, complaining as they move forward. They agree to progress in a particular direction and everybody benefits. So, people work together. But in our country we claim that we have Vision 2030, for example, when the Members of Parliament, trade unionists and labour officers have no clue, yet, the Government is supposed to be implementing a vision. It is typically going to fail, because we are supposed to have the political goodwill. We are supposed to have the workers and labour organizations supporting it, so that we move in one direction. That is the only way a country like ours will be able to grow to the level where other countries are. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we should be following what is happening in the First 1460 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES May 17, 2007 World countries. What we are doing is looking at what other developing countries are doing and trying to follow their footsteps. We should be looking at what developed countries have done and follow their footsteps, in order to achieve what they have achieved. In the 21st Century, we do not expect somebody to be starving or not affording transport to get to his work place and, therefore, trekking for two hours to the work place. You will never find that happening in the First World countries. We need to have systems that will assist workers. Even companies should be working towards finding solutions to these problems. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there was a time when companies used to take care of their workers. They had buses which used to pick workers at different points and take them to work. In the evening, they used to be taken back to their homes. In most multinational companies it has now become critical that the managing director and the sweeper eat the same food in the same dining room. They do not have separate boardrooms for directors, managers and sweepers. We need some cohesiveness. People in the First World are working together in order to achieve a goal. That is the modern way of thinking. On Fridays, to make everybody feel that they are all working for the same interest, you will find the managing director and sweepers wearing the same T-shirts. You may not tell who is the manager, managing director or sweeper, because they all work---"
}