STAND OFF AT RAILWAYS AS RETRENCHED WORKERS DEMAND PAY.

  BY SHEM KOSSE.
 
  Confusion,chaos and grandstanding marked the start of massive lay offs of
former Kenya Railways employees in the lakeside city, Kisumu.
 
  The retrenchees numbering over 200 held the regional accountant Dalmas Osodo hostage demanding to be paid Ksh 4,000 for transport and accommdation to attend a goverment organised seminar for retrenched workers in Nakuru.
 
  However,the Rift Valley Railway, a firm associated with Sheltam of South
Africa, which took over the Kenya Railways appeared to be in a state of
confusion as nothing in terms of organisation was forth coming .
 
   At one point, the former employees stormed Osodo's office in a bid to eject
him, forcing the accountant to plead for more time to contact the chief
accountant at the headquaters,Nairobi.
 
  Similarly, it also emerged that the seminar dates had been altered.The bitter
former Kenya Railways employees also expressed fears of being evicted as their 3 months deadline in the corporation's houses was elapsing and yet they have not received their  retrenchment letters. The letters were to be handed over on Nov 15,this year.
 
  They accused the management of taking them round in a bid not to pay them
their salary arrears.
 
  They lamented that the corporation was not keen on paying them their terminal dues hence the delay in processing their benefits.
 
  The workers official, Samuel Atito caused laughter when he said it was
becoming difficult for former employees to obtain debts as a cloud of uncertainity hangs over their heads.
 
  He accused the regional accountant for purporting that he was indeed
responsible for the coordination of the seminar.