The Kenya Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union (KPAWU) on Tuesday signed a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with Del Monte Kenya Limited covering the period 2025–2027.
The signing ceremony was presided over by KPAWU General Secretary Francis Atwoli, who was accompanied by the Union’s Deputy General Secretary, Thomas Kipkemboi, and the branch-level leadership representing workers at Del Monte.
The management of Del Monte Kenya Limited was led by Managing Director Wayne Cook and Human Resource Manager Gideon Kimutai.
Under this new two-year CBA, the salaries of approximately 7,000 workers will be increased by between 6 per cent and 9 per cent.
This reflects a shared commitment to improving the welfare and livelihoods of agricultural workers.
In addition, the management of Del Monte has assured the Union that workers will benefit from an increase in house allowance, while continuing to enjoy top-tier medical and education benefits within the company.
Atwoli, while signing the CBA commended the cordial and constructive spirit demonstrated by both parties throughout the negotiation process, which has once again affirmed the value of social dialogue and collective bargaining in promoting industrial harmony and fair labour relations within Kenya’s plantation and agricultural sector.
“As KPAWU, we wish to assure the management of Del Monte that as long as they promote the welfare of workers within their establishment, we shall continue standing with them to ensure that they grow in revenue so that workers can benefit,” Atwoli said.
"The Union remains committed to safeguarding the rights and advancing the welfare of all workers across the sector, ensuring that the fruits of their labour translate into decent livelihoods and improved working conditions."
The Kenya Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union (KPAWU) is a trade union that advocates for agricultural workers in Kenya.
It is known for its collective bargaining efforts, including strikes to address issues such as fair wages, mechanisation and employment conditions.
Del Monte Kenya Limited is a Kenyan food processing company that operates in the cultivation, production, and canning of pineapple products.
The company produces canned solid pineapple, juice concentrates, mill juice sugar and cattle feed.
The cornerstone of worker welfare at Del Monte is the Collective Bargaining Agreement, a binding document forged between the union and company management.
Negotiated after two years, the expired CBA was running from 2023 to 2025, with the new one signed on Tuesday.
According to Del Monte, the organisation's first CBA was negotiated in 1981, marking more than four decades of structured dialogue.
The CBA plays a big role as it outlines the responsibilities of management and places boundaries around how our workers should be treated.
