Bakery Confectionery Food Manufacturing and Allied Workers Union (K) v Kenafric Industries Limited [2018] KEELRC 425 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court allowed an employer to proceed with redundancy because it had properly notified the union and labour authorities as the law requires.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Compliance with section 40(1)(a) of the Employment Act and clause 6 of the CBA in the redundancy notice
The respondent complied: the union and the Ministry of Labour were duly notified, as confirmed by the Conciliator's findings and the supplementary affidavit showing the notice was copied to the County Labour Officer
The applicant alleged the notice was not copied to the Labour Officer and did not disclose names and positions of affected employees as required by section 40(1)(a) and clause 6(b) of the CBA. The respondent filed a supplementary affidavit attaching a copy of the letter to the County Labour Officer. The Conciliator, whose findings the court adopted, found that both the union and the Ministry of Labour were duly notified and that no procedure was violated. The court found the applicant's averments unsupported by the facts and controverted by the Conciliator's findings.
Existence of a valid reason for the redundancy and the allegation of targeted union members being replaced with outsourced labour
No valid reason to stop the redundancy: all engineering workshop staff were subject of the redundancy, the positions were superfluous and not core, and the allegations of union-targeting and replacement with outsourced labour were unsupported
The applicant contended the redundancy lacked a valid and legitimate reason and was a scheme to replace union members with outsourced labour. The court held these averments were not supported by the facts: it was uncontested that the entire engineering workshop staff were subject of the redundancy, and the Conciliator found the affected positions superfluous and not core to the business. The respondent's meeting with the applicant was confirmed by the applicant's own affidavit. The court therefore found no valid reason to restrain the redundancy.
Legal principles established
#- An employer may declare employees redundant provided it complies with the requirements of section 40 of the Employment Act and the applicable collective agreement
Court orders
#- 1.The application dated 16th July 2018 is dismissed
- 2.No orders for costs of the application
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Jurisdiction under the Employment and Labour Relations Court as the court with authority over employment and labour disputes and registered collective agreements (statutory basis not expressly cited in the judgment)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Bakery Confectionery Food Manufacturing and Allied Workers Union (K) v Kenafric Industries Limited [2018] KEELRC 425 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2018). Notice of Motion dated 16th July 2018 in the main suit (Cause number not stated in the judgment). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2018/425/eng@2018-12-20
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.