The Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) is suffering from an acute shortage of workers, the Kenya Petroleum Oil Workers Union (KPOWU) has alleged.
According to KPOWU, the company lacks employees in various departments, causing the employees to put in extra hours to keep up with the work.
Union workers at KPC allege that extreme understaffing is harming their performance and point to exhaustion brought on by lengthy work hours.
The state-owned firm is charged with storing, transporting, and delivering petroleum products to Kenyan consumers through its pipeline system and oil depot network.
In a letter addressed to the company’s board chairperson, Rita Okuthe, KPOWU secretary-general George Okoth said, “We seek to draw your attention to rising concerns relating to the impact of the current level of staffing in security, administration, and operations departments. Some staff have been known to be at their workstations for 96 consecutive hours, an unacceptable situation by all standards. ”
Read: Fears Over Fuel Prices As Ruto Hints At Ending Subsidies
The letter also stated that “This is evidenced by an exponential increase in the number of overtime claims incurred and a huge balance of unpaid overtime claims.”
Some employees, according to the union, have accrued overtime claims of up to Ksh2.5 million annually. It said that due to several temporary and relief drivers’ contracts expiring, the corporation is also short on drivers for its administrative division. The union also stated that some of the company’s infrastructure is at risk of theft and vandalism due to a lack of staff, particularly security officers.
“We don’t have a shortage of staff at KPC” Managing Director KPC Macharia Irungu said denying the union’s claims.
In addition, KPOWU said that KPC’s execution of new projects is being hampered by a staffing deficit, which is delaying their execution.
Read: Pain At The Pump As Fuel Prices Hit A Historic High
According to Mr Okoth, the company lacks the necessary amounts of manpower because it is understaffed. The lack of staff has led to a significant impact on several of KPC’s ongoing projects and as a result, the quality of work is anticipated to deteriorate.
According to the company’s most recent financial accounts, which cover the financial year 2019/20, it has 1,569 employees and an asset base of Ksh123 billion. This is a decrease from the 1,628 employees it had during the financial year 2018/19. For the year, it spent Ksh6.5 billion on employees.
Email your news TIPS to editor@thesharpdaily.com
