Workers locked out

EMPLOYEES of the National Statistical Office have been locked out of their office for a week because of an outstanding K9.6 million in rental arrears, says acting statistician John Igitoi.
They have been to a company and the officers have been locked out of the building, owned by a private company, since last Friday.
“Our office has been locked since Friday,” he said.
“For seven days, we (have not been) working.
“It is a waste of government money.”
Igitoi said the amount had been accumulating for five years and the landlord locked them out after issuing two warnings to pay up.
He said more than 300 employees were being paid for doing nothing for a week.
“We need to have that settled quickly,” Igitoi said.
He urged the Finance Department to pay the rental bill.
“We need the Finance Department to settle all the bills, so that officers can do their work,” Igitoi said.
According to the closure notice, the landlord had requested several times to meet with the government office allocation committee and Finance Department to settle the arrears. But no meeting was held and no assurance was made to pay up.
The notice of the closure was issued on Sept 5, giving the State 14 days to Sept 27 to pay the outstanding rent.
However, it was not done.