JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
1. The appeal before us raises two main issues of law. Firstly, whether the terms of a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which is for a fixed term, between an employer and a trade union, continues to apply after expiry of the CBA. Secondly, whether existing labour laws were complied with by the employer before declaring its employees redundant.
2. The employer, who is the appellant before us, is Mukiria Farmers Co- operative Society Ltd (the Society). Before April 2015 the society was in the business of coffee production and had in its employment 34 different cadres of staff. The unionisable employees were members of the Kenya Union of Commercial Food and Allied Workers (the Union) and on the 15th April, 2009, the Union signed a CBA with the society covering various terms of employment. Among those terms were 'Retirement' under Clause 21 and 'Redundancy and Severance Pay’ under Clause 22 which provided, in relevant parts, as follows:
“21. RETIREMENT
a. An emplo…