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21 July, 2025In a ruling delivered on 11 July and welcomed by trade unions, the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Mombasa barred Springtech Kenya Limited—a manufacturing firm—from terminating workers' contracts for joining a union.
The decision stems from the dismissal of six workers and the suspension of eleven others at the company’s Mombasa plant, actions the court deemed unlawful and in violation of Kenya’s labour laws and the national constitution which protects freedom of association.
The conflict began when six workers joined the Amalgamated Union of Kenya Metalworkers (AUKMW), an IndustriALL affiliate. Their dismissals followed swiftly, prompting eleven colleagues to stage a sit-in demanding an explanation from Springtech’s human resources department. Instead of engaging, management accused the protesting workers of “causing disturbance” and reported them to the police, leading to their arrests and suspensions. The AUKMW responded with an urgent court application, challenging the dismissals and suspensions as unlawful union-busting tactics.
The Mombasa court ruled in favour of the union, issuing an injunction that “no termination of employment will be allowed” at Springtech pending further legal review. The ruling aligns with the office of the director of public prosecutions, which declined to prosecute the eleven suspended workers. Citing precedent, the prosecutor argued that a “disturbance” must demonstrably threaten public peace to warrant charges. There was no violation during the workers’ peaceful sit-in, which did not disrupt any citizens activities.
IndustriALL Sub-Saharan Africa regional secretary, Paule-France Ndessomin, said:
“The Amalgamed vs Springtech Kenya Limited case highlights broader tensions in some of Kenya’s industrial sector, where firms often resist unionisation to pay low wages and violate workers’ rights to collective bargaining, and we applaud the AUKMW for standing firm on defending workers’ rights.”
Rose Omamo, IndustriALL vice president and AUKMW general secretary, described the dismissals as “a clear case of intimidation and harassment” aimed at deterring unionization. “This violates workers’ rights to freedom of association under Kenyan law,” she said, vowing to pursue further legal action to protect union members.
The ITUC Global Rights Index (2025) listed Kenya as one of the African countries with systematic violations (rating 4) of workers’ rights which means, “The government and/or companies are engaged in serious efforts to crush the collective voice of workers, putting fundamental rights under threat.” This rating is a few steps away from the worst rating of 5+ “where there are no rights guarantees due to a breakdown in the rule of law.”
Springtech Kenya manufactures leaf springs, bolts and nuts, brake pads and linings, trailer parts and other accessories for the automotive industries.