Bamburi Cement ex-employee awarded Ksh.7.9M compensation

Bamburi Cement ex-employee awarded Ksh.7.9M compensation

A welder who allegedly lost his hearing ability while working at the Bamburi Cement factory has been awarded Ksh.7.9 million as compensation.

Morowa Fumwo told the court that prior to his employment at the cement manufacturing firm he was of good health but developed complications later.

He had accused the company of failing to provide him with protective hearing gears leading to the loss of hearing.

On December 8, 2011, Fumwo was examined by Doctor Mukesh Shah upon the company’s recommendation.

The doctor concluded that his loss hearing was as a result of noise trauma at the workplace, upon which he (the doctor) recommended that Fumwo be retired on medical grounds.

Following the doctor’s recommendation, the court on January 2015 directed the factory to pay him Ksh.8, 280,481; 15 days’ salary for work done in January 2015 at Ksh.67,778; 2 months’ salary in lieu of notice at Ksh.271,112; long service award at Ksh.184,892; accrued annual leave at Ksh.73,451; and baggage allowance at Ksh.100,000.

This brought the sum total to Ksh.8,977,714. However, after tax and other deductions, the amount reduced to Ksh.6,183,980 based on the Collective Bargaining Agreement concluded between Claimant’s Union, Kenya Chemical and Allied Workers’ Union, and the respondent.

Fumwo went back to court where the amount was enhanced after saying that the amount paid to him on retirement did not satisfy his needs.

Bamburi Cement, through an affidavit, admitted to employing the claimant as a welder on January 2, 1990, and that he was suffering from hearing loss attributable to a pre-existing condition as at the time of recruitment.

“Loss of hearing was not occasioned by an occupational injury. The claimant was reviewed by the respondent in the same year he was employed, 1990, after visiting respondent’s clinic with complaints of ear pain and oozing. Treatment given was ‘surgery for perforated ear drum,” the factory argued.

The court noted that there was no conclusive evidence that the condition pre-existed, adding that it was similarly improbable that the claimant just developed the hearing problem in his first year of employment.

“All that can be concluded, in the first report of Dr. Muoki is that the claimant was fit to join Bamburi Factory. His ears were either found to have no appreciable disease, or were not examined altogether. The claimant’s complaints soon after employment may point to the onset of his hearing problem, or it could also have been that the problem was not detected by Dr. Muoki,” the court ruled.

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Bamburi Cement factory Ex-employee awarded compensation Morowa Fumwo

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