Kenya Plantation Agricultural Workers Union v Sirgoek Flowers Limited (Cause E004 of 2021) [2023] KEELRC 3344 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court awarded flower farm workers an 8% annual pay rise instead of the 20% claimed, partly because the union delayed filing for six years.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Effective date and duration of the 2016-2018 CBA
Although logically the successor CBA should have taken effect from expiry of the last CBA on 1st April 2016, the court ordered an effective date of 1st April 2020 to 30th March 2022, citing the six-year unexplained delay in filing and the effects of Covid-19.
Section 59(5) of the Labour Relations Act allows parties to agree the effective date, and clause 38 of the last CBA continued it in force until amended. The Respondent's own 8% proposal implied a 2016 commencement. However, the Claimant filed suit six years after expiry without explanation, and the court took judicial notice of the Covid-19 pandemic's economic impact, so it fixed a prospective effective date to bring the parties to the present.
Whether a 20% general wage increase was merited
Claimed 20% increase rejected for lack of evidential justification; the court awarded the 8% per year the Respondent had offered.
There was no Central Planning and Monitoring Unit report under rule 37(1) of the ELRC Procedure Rules because the Respondent was non-responsive. The Claimant made no submission on inflation rates for the period and produced no financial reports showing the Respondent could afford 20%. In the absence of evidential basis, the court adopted the Respondent's offer of 8% each year.
Protection of statutory minimum wage
Any employee below the statutory minimum wage must be raised to it before applying the general increase.
The court included this protective order in its summary of awards to ensure no unionisable employee is disadvantaged by application of the percentage increase to a sub-minimum wage.
Legal principles established
#- A collective agreement becomes enforceable upon registration and is effective from the date agreed upon by the parties
- In an undefended claim, the court may presume the truth of the claimant's unchallenged pleadings
- A claimant seeking an enhanced wage increase must justify it with evidence of inflation rates and the employer's financial capacity
Court orders
#- 1.Period covered by the CBA is two years from 1st April 2020
- 2.General wage increase at the rate of 8% on 1st April 2020 and a further 8% on 1st April 2021
- 3.If any employees' wages are below the statutory minimum wage, they shall first be brought up to the statutory minimum wage before being awarded the general wage increase
- 4.No orders for costs
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Jurisdiction of the Employment and Labour Relations Court over labour disputes under the Employment and Labour Relations Court Act and the Labour Relations Act
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Kenya Plantation Agricultural Workers Union v Sirgoek Flowers Limited (Cause E004 of 2021) [2023] KEELRC 3344 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2023). Statement of Claim dated 4th March 2020. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2023/3344/eng@2023-12-21
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.