Tata Chemicals : Cofek Response Letter

Eng. Jackson Mbui

Managing Director

TATA Chemicals Magadi

21st June 2018

Secretary General,

Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK)

Rehema Place, Block F-45 Ngong Road/Ring Rd Kilimani Junction

P.O Box 28053-00200 City Square Nairobi

Kenya

RE: TWITTER POST MADE ON THE 18TH JUNE 2018

I am writing this letter in response to a Twitter Post that was uploaded from the COFEK Twitter Handle (@ConsumersKenya) on June 18th 2018 in which you forwarded a letter written by a 'concerned citizen' who queried the hiring of our C.O.O. Mr. Harish Nair and the posting of two Engineers to our base of local operations in Magadi.

While you simply posted the letter on behalf of the petitioner from your Twitter Handle, I feel that it is essential that we clarify some of the accusations made against TATA Chemicals Magadi, as they are incorrect and bordering on defamation, which I am sure was not your intention. As verbalized in your own mandate;

'Our mandate is to defend, promote, develop and pursue consumer rights as guided by Article 46 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010, the Consumer Protection Act, 2012 and the Competition Act, Cap 504 and make it possible for the consumers to get value for money'.

At the outset, we wish to bring to your notice that Tata Chemicals Magadi is part of the Tata Group which operates in several countries across the globe. Under the Tata Code of Conduct we ensure that all our operations are in full conformity with the rules of the countries where we operate. With regards to Mr. Harish Nair and his appointment as C.O.O. of TATA Chemicals Magadi, I can assure you that this has been done after following the laid down procedures for getting an employment visa and grant of the work permit to enable his hiring in the Company. Mr. Nair is not a direct hire from the external market, but on secondment to Magadi from our parent company TATA Chemicals Limited with a view to support and nurture our management team. This appointment was made to bolster our local capabilities through his competency as a strategic leader with over 20 years of operational experience in various roles in TATA Chemicals Limited.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Nair was the Head of Sales, Marketing and Commercial at TATA Chemicals Limited, a position he held for 3 years. Over the 20 years, he has held positions ofincreasing responsibility since joining in 1995 and is a great addition to our Senior Management Structure. As a global organization, we pride ourselves in our capacity to harness and benefit from our ability to access experienced talent from within our organization as we look to drive workflow efficiencies, improve productivity levels and enhance our capabilities.

Additionally, with regards to the two Engineers mentioned in the post, I would like to clarify that that they are currently on a Work Exchange Programme that provides our engineers an opportunity to travel and gain exposure from within our global networks. They have not been brought into Magadi by Mr Nair, instead they have come to Kenya on deputation, even prior to Mr Nair joining us. This programme is open to Kenyans and Foreign Engineers alike, and on numerous occasions we have opened the application process to non-engineers. We once again reiterate that both these Engineers and Mr. Nair have been issued the relevant documents from The Department of Immigration, and were issued Work Permits in 2017 and early 2018 respectively.

We would also like to clarify about the accident on Magadi road that was mentioned in the tweet. Unfortunately, a group of tourists were travelling to Magadi by road and were involved in an unfortunate car accident that ended in two fatalities. Staff from Magadi Hospital were first on the scene and were able to treat the rest of the passengers and transferred them to Nairobi for further treatment. Tata Chemicals Magadi is a strong advocate for safety and we routinely train our staff on defensive driving and we have facilitated a safety internal portal that all potential near misses are reported, reviewed and actioned upon.

For TATA Chemicals Magadi, people come first. We are an equal opportunity employer and we have invested substantial time and effort into building up employment opportunities and livelihoods within the local community. We recognize that to excel as a business we must continue to hire the best talent and secure the full participation and commitment of all employees. In keeping with this conviction, it is our policy and intent to hire and provide all staff with the opportunity to grow, develop and contribute fully to our collective success. Over the last couple of years we have nominated several staff from our Magadi plant to participate in Management Development Programmes organized by our parent company in order to build the skills, capabilities and competencies of the local workforce to be able to face the challenges of an extremely dynamic and competitive global market.

Please do not hesitate to contact me personally should you need any further clarification,

Kind Regards,

Eng. Jackson Mbui

Managing Director

TATA Chemicals Magadi