A Kenyan court has temporarily blocked online retailer Wasoko from laying off nine employees, throwing a wrench into their planned merger with Egyptian firm MaxAB Limited.
The nine employees, who deal with fast-moving consumer goods, argue that the company initiated the redundancy process in December without proper consultation or exploring alternative solutions.
“They claim the company cited a “change in business environment” and “reorganization” as justification, but offered no concrete evidence or attempts to reassign them within the company,” Business Daily reported.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court judge, Justice Nzioki wa Makau granted the employees interim orders on January 31st, preventing their immediate termination.
This decision was extended on February 5th, and a hearing is scheduled for February 13th to determine the legality of the redundancy process.
Wasoko contends that the employees’ claims lack merit and the court intervention is premature. They argue that the redundancy process follows legal procedures and that the employees have not proven they would suffer irreparable harm without the injunction.
The company also states they offered alternative solutions but none were viable.
“This application has been filed prematurely before the legal issues have crystallised and before the redundancy process completed. Presently, the applicants have not established a cause of action,” the firm said through the law firm of MW & Company Advocates.