Employees complain of poor working and living conditions

Kenyan employees working on the standard gauge railway project have complained of poor working conditions.

The health and safety of the local workers is not being treated with the same seriousness as that of their Chinese counterparts, some of them told Nation.

China Roads and Bridges Construction (CRBC) workers, who have to commute daily to the sites, say they have been reduced to begging for lifts from motorists.

Last week, several workers were injured after a truck that was transporting them to work from Mtito Andei to the Kathekani site veered off the road.

Mr Eric Mutemi, a casual worker at section six, sustained two fractures on his pelvic and collar bones after he was trampled on by colleagues trying to get away from the lorry which was carrying 110 workers.

He was taken to Makindu Hospital before being transferred to Aga Khan Hospital.

“CRBC has taken care of all the medical bills, and I am very grateful to them. They are the ones who got an ambulance to bring me to Aga Khan,” Mr Mutemi told Nation on his hospital bed last week.

He, however, said transportation was still a big problem for the workers despite promises by the company to provide better transport.

Mr Paul Adipo, who sustained serious injuries on the belly during the stampede following the accident, said he would not have made it if his employer had not stepped in to foot the medical bills.

“It is only by the grace of God that I am alive today. I was sure I was going to die, especially since I don’t make enough to support myself. But CRBC has taken care of us,” said the father of four.

But other workers paint a different picture of their employer, with some complaining of discrimination in how local workers are treated compared to their Chinese counterparts.

METAL SHACKS

For instance, Kenyan employees working at sleeper factories are being housed in metal shacks outside the protection of the secure electric fence that envelopes their Chinese counterparts.
There is no water supply or electricity in the metal shacks, and some of the workers’ rooms do not have any furniture.

Meanwhile, their Chinese counterparts sleep in well-furnished, air-conditioned rooms with modern recreational facilities such as basketball courts and swimming pools.

A supervision report from Kenya Railways and seen by Nation describes the living conditions, especially in the Ndii and Tsavo camps, as “a safety and health hazard that should be addressed immediately.”

“The cubicle rooms at Section 1 are situated next to the fuel storage and fuelling pump area. In addition to the risks of fire accident, the workers are permanently exposed to hydrocarbon emissions,” says the report.

Besides, none of the construction areas have sanitation facilities (pit latrines or mobile toilets) and the workers have to use the bushes or seek permission to use pit latrines in the neighbouring homes.

According to the supervision report, the situation does not only expose the workers to safety risks — particularly for women workers — but is also an environmental hazard.

Standard Gauge Railway project manager Maxwell Mengich (left) said the contractor had agreed to give the workers a housing allowance, which is a different arrangement from that made with their Chinese counterparts.

“There are, of course, variations in the housing situation. We are, however, working to make sure that the security, safety and sanitation is provided to all the workers without any discrimination,” Mr Mengich said.