The attitudes of old and young Kenyan garment export processing zone workers towards the state of their working conditions

Abstract

As the current depressing social and economic challenges continue to mount on developing countries today, the younger generation is continuously finding itself pushed into the Export Processing Zones (EPZ) labor market. However, it has not been clear as to how the existing EPZ working conditions influence the perceptions of both the new young (18-23) and old (24-29) EPZ employees. Using empirical data, the picture that emerges from Kenyan garment EPZs is that the prevailing working conditions influence the young (18-23) and old (24-29) (old in EPZ terms) employees differently. This combination of both young and old employees in the EPZ workplace thus, presents EPZ operators with a new challenge on how to blend their working conditions to favorably suit the needs of these two age groups.


Institute of African Studies: Research Review Vol. 20(2) 2004: 53-63