The employees, who are stationed at various Artificial Insemination Centres (AI Centres), have written to government demanding immediate administrative action for its apparent unfair treatment of them, failure to which they would proceed with legal action. In the statutory notice issued to the employer, the employees who are mostly senior and junior inseminators, agric field assistants, labourers, and herders state that the issues they raised can be resolved without litigation. “We believe that the issues raised without litigation therefore we implore the employer to look into administrative solutions for the issues. However, if there is no solution we will have no option but institute legal action on the expiry of the statutory notice,” the employees stated. Laid out in their numerous grievances the employees firstly stated that their working hours which are on intervals are unfair and the contention is that when they break during the intervals they have to remain within the AI centre or the farms.
The employees also said without any choice they are forced to remain on duty standby since their services are required to attend to the cattle. “For instance, if a beast or cow runs out of the kraal we are expected to attend to it when we are supposed to be off duty. In some instances, we have to apply medications and dippings when off duty,” expressed the employees. They contend that during those odd-hour breaks, they are actually on standby without any provision for standby allowance while also working long hours since when they resume work at around the 3pm interval they walk long distances of about eight kilometres within the farms in the dark looking for cattle for kraaling. They stated that since the knock-off hours of 10 and 11 in the evening, the reality is that they work more than 12 hours a day which violates the Public Service Act. “We work without compensation or overtime. Also given that we work in hazardous environments we are entitled to protective clothing like boosts, hard hats, and masks. Masks are very important as we work in dusty environments due to cow dust which increases our risk for lung diseases,” reads the notice. More on their grievances, the employees pointed out that they are often housed in dilapidated houses in various AI centres which are not fit for human occupation saying the majority of houses have leakages which become unbearable during the rainy season and also no ablution facilities save for one toilet often shared by all workers.
