"Flower farm workers to miss salaries over Covid-19 crisis"

Naivasha-based flower farms might not be able to pay salaries in the coming months if the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic persists...

Already, the sector has sent more than 2,000 workers on a two-week paid leave by following the collapse of the Dutch auction which takes over 50 per cent of exports from the country. In the last week, some flower farms have resorted to destroying flowers worth millions of shillings every day as the product cannot reach the EU market...

Naivashasubcounty commissioner Mathioya Mbogo said the sector was very critical to the country’s economy and the national government would release support measures. Mathioya said that he and other senior government officers had visited the affected farms and promised them support. “We have had several meetings with the farmers and assured them of government support as they support hundreds of families both directly and indirectly,” Mathioya said. He said Naivasha was home to tens of flower farms and warned that if the workers were sent home, there could be social disorder and a rise in crime. Mathioya said they had asked the farms not to sack their workers. “We hope that this pandemic will be contained as job losses in this town could lead to chaos and the farmers have agreed not to lay off their workers,” he said...

Kenya Export, Floriculture, Horticulture and Allied Workers Union secretary general David Omulama said more than 15 farms had already sent some of their workers home. "In most cases, the employers had agreed to pay the workers their salaries in the period that they would be away as the monitor the situation," Omulama said.