Oserian flower firm has placed more than 800 workers on unpaid leave after the staff declined a 50 percent pay after the coronavirus hit flower exports.
The workers declined the offer to defer half of their salaries until the end of coronavirus to ease the financial impact of the pandemic.
The deadlock forced the firm to place the workers on unpaid leave in line with recent legal changes that discourage pay cuts and layoffs due to effects of the infectious disease.
“We have been facing financial difficulties since the emergence of Covid-19, which has impacted negatively on our cash flow, what we have been asking of our employees is to accept a 50 percent deferral on their pay, which would be paid back when things get back to normal, but they refused,” said Mary Kinyua, human resource director at Oserian flowers.
“When they refused we did not have an alternative but to send 800 of them on unpaid leave,” she added, pointing out that the firm has 1,200 employees.