Caleb Otieno’s family will receive a Sh7,000 monthly stipend from the corporation for the next five years as compensation for the guy who was melted to ashes in a Thika steel facility.
This is a third of his Sh21,000 net monthly pay. He had been employed for seven years and was on a permanent basis.
This corresponds to the Sh420,000 lump sum figure that had been reported in the media.
The proprietor of Blue Nile Rolling Mills told the family that this would be “the appropriate gesture of compensation,” the family told the Star on Thursday.
The company offered Otieno’s father Sh100,000 on March 27 when the family visited the factory, according to Michael Orao, his counsin who has been speaking to the press on behalf of the family.
They were able to use the funds to aid with lodging and travel costs.
While the parents were still reeling from the news, Orao said the boss told him that from then on, he would treat Otieno’s father as one of his employees, and he would be paid the same stipend as every other person on the payroll.
According to Orao, the corporation told the family to seek “substantial” compensation.
“It Muhindi owner of the company was the one suggesting the ideas and deciding alone without any other input. I think they saw how poor mzee was and decided to give the ridiculing amount,” Orao said.
“They brought the motion of compensation when the family was still moved by the death. Our focus was just on the death but the chose to strike when it was still hot.”
The 34-year-old male is from Kisumu’s Kogony community. On March 25, he was carried into a metal crushing rolling machine, where he was crushed to death before being dumped into a burning furnace below.
However, legal experts say that the family should hire a personal injury lawyer to represent them in negotiations with the corporation and insurance companies.
According to experts, the discussion of compensations must take into consideration the employee’s potential life expectancy, and the calculation should encompass the duration of the employee’s potential productive life.
The controversy has highlighted the necessity for Kenyans to have a better grasp of their rights in the event of injury or death while on duty.
The dependents of a deceased man can file a claim for compensation within twelve months after his death, according to the Work Injury Benefits Act of 2007.
The director of Occupational Safety and Health Services receives the claim.
A claim for compensation against an employer or insurance must be settled within ninety days of the claim being filed, according to the law.
When the compensation is eventually paid out, the director must distribute it to the dependents within 30 days.
“An employer or an insurer who fails to pay the compensation claimed under this subsection commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding five hundred thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both.”
