Agribusiness firm Kakuzi Plc is set to adopt a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the Kenya Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union (KPAWU), featuring a nine per cent salary increase for 2022 and another nine per cent for 2023.
The signing of the 2022/2023 CBA follows a round of concerted negotiations between the Kakuzi management and employees represented by KPAWU officials and workers’ Shop Stewards.
Speaking when he confirmed the conclusion of the negotiations and CBA signing by the management, Kakuzi PLC Managing Director Mr Chris Flowers said the salary increases are effective November 2022. As part of the agreement with KPAWU, the firm will backdate the due payments to January this year.
The company will load the other nine per cent increase onto the Kakuzi unionizable staff salaries in January next year.
The management, he added, has continued to acknowledge the good work put in by the firm’s workers in the production of export quality avocados, macadamia, livestock, forestry and blueberries, among other products, at its orchards and farms in Makuyu, Murang’a county.
“The Kakuzi management celebrates our shop stewards and KPAWU leadership for their commitment to reviewing the CBA in a most cordial environment. The give-and-take engagements and negotiations allowed us to attain a win-win position on several clauses, including the 9% salary increase effective this month and another nine percent in 2023,” Flowers said.
With an employee complement of more than 2500 workers, Kakuzi prioritises its employee welfare programmes, including Good health and wellbeing initiatives. The firm is also spearheading the rollout of robust Human rights programmes, SIKIKA, including Kenya’s first independent Operational Level grievance mechanism (OGM) programme.
In conjunction with KPAWU, Kakuzi has also embraced continuous industrial relations training programmes to boost compliance with global standards. The firm recently conducted an organisation-wide Shop Stewards Technical Training Workshop for Kakuzi PLC Shop stewards.
