Companies
Portland Cement barred from selling 25 land parcels
Friday July 14 2023
Entrance to the East Africa Portland Cement factory in Athi River. FILE PHOTO | NMG
East Africa Portland Cement Company has been barred from disposing of more than 25 parcels of land until it fully pays its former employees more than Sh636 million.
Employment and Labour Relations Court judge Anna Mwaure granted the order blocking the cement maker from transferring or charging the parcels of land, pending the full payment of about 700 former employees who successfully sued the firm in 2014.
Read: Squatters get three years to buy Portland Cement land
The former workers won the case against the company and had initially been allowed to attach the firm’s bank accounts, as part of the plan to get their dues.
The company, however, sought the discharge of the orders saying it was hurting the firm as the current workforce of about 584 employees and their families will be affected by the freeze.
The company also dismissed claims that it was winding up.
“In making these orders the court wishes to emphasise that any money recovered from the garnishees will be divided as ordered and also any money from the proceeds of sale shall equally be shared on prorata basis,” the judge said.
The court, at the same time, declined to allow one of the law firms that represented 210 former employees to independently execute part of the portion of the money, separately.
The judge said the company has assets but it is difficult to comprehend how the same can be divided and execution is carried out separately.
Read: Portland Cement defaults on loan, cuts staff by 78pc
The former workers were awarded Sh1.4 billion in August 2015 after accusing the Athi-River-based company of a wide discrepancy in remuneration between them and their permanent counterparts in the same job position despite a 2012 Collective Bargaining Agreement signed between Portland and the workers’ union.
