The lowest paid worker at Kenya’s retail giant Tuskys will still earn a salary that is lower than the average livable wage in the country even after the workers union negotiated a new deal with the supermarket chain.
A press release from the retail chain yesterday said the more than 1,800 unionisable workers would get an 8 percent salary increment following the signing of a Collective Bargaining Agreement between Tusker Mattresses and the Kenya Union of Commercial Food and Allied Workers (KUCFAW).
Tuskys CEO Dan Githua is quoted in the release disclosing that the lowest paid workers’ salary, shop assistants, would increase to Sh29,277 from Sh24,949 while checkout till cashiers will earn Sh44,595 from Sh38,083. But the pay will still be subject to income tax and statutory deductions.
The deal is likely to raise eyebrows in the workers movement in Kenya given it is the first in the history of CBA negotiations that a union has agreed to sign a productivity based deal.
Speaking when he confirmed the signing of the new CBA, Githua said the agreement backdated to march 2017 will cover a two-year period running to March 2019 with improved mutual benefit clauses.
“At Tusker Mattresses, we recognize that the employees are the most important stakeholder in our business and we therefore value good relations with them. This CBA is a win-win outcome for the company and the employees and we look forward to enhanced productivity,” Githua said.
At the CBA signing ceremony, Tusker Mattresses was represented by Mr Githua, Chief Financial Officer Dan Ndirangu, General Manager Operations Ann Wamaitha and Senior Human Resource Managers Simon Wamburu and Joshua Wambua. The Union was represented by the First Deputy Secretary General Andrew Kinyua and Assistant Secretary General Mike Oranga.
