Tea growers protest at layoffs and low wages

As tea continues to attract better prices at the Mombasa auction, a trade union and multinational tea companies in the country are embroiled in a row over low wages and massive sackings of employees.

The Kenya Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union (KPAWU) wants multinational tea companies to suspend the introduction of tea plucking and pruning machines saying the technology was impacting negatively on the tea industry.

The union’s national treasurer, Mr Joshua Oyuga, said more than 10,000 employees in the tea industry had been sacked following the introduction of the machines by some tea companies two years ago.

Mr Oyuga claims the tea companies have consequently reduced payment for harvested green leaf from Sh7.67 to Sh3.50 a kilogramme, thus contravening Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the union.

The Kenyan tea has been fetching between $2.45 (Sh193.06) and $2.60 (Sh204.88) a kilogramme at the Mombasa auction and the union wants the profit ploughed back to boost the welfare of tea workers.

“It amounts to exploitation of the tea companies to pay Sh 3.50 per kilogramme for green leaf while it earns over Sh200 for the product at the auction market,” says Mr Oyuga.

The union has threatened to move to court to compel tea companies to pay wages to its employees in recognition of the CBA.

But some tea companies have attributed the massive sacking of workers to shortage of green leaf caused by the prolonged drought.

“We have been unable to maintain a big workforce due to poor green tea leaf production in the past few months following prolonged drought,” said a senior manage in one of the tea farms in Nandi Hills.

But Mr Oyuga maintains that some tea companies have resorted to hiring employees on contract after sacking them to cut costs and increase profits.

“The tea companies are applying manipulative tactics by sacking their employees and later re-employing them on contract basis, denying them the benefits they are entitled to under CBA provisions,” said Mr Oyuga.

He says employees on contract do not enjoy such benefits such as housing, and medical allowances.

The unionist maintains that the tea pruning machines compromises quality of tea that contributes to low prices in fair trades.

“Unlike harvesting tea by hand, where two leaves and a bud is required for quality product, plucking by machines is non-selective which results in low quality produce,” says Mr Oyuga.

The declined prices at the trade fairs has forced some of the multi-national tea companies to diversify to farm forestry especially cultivation of eucalyptus trees which fetches better market prices.

“Apart from providing fuel for dying of tea leaves, eucalyptus trees are fetches good prices due to its fast maturing rate,” says Samuel Kirui, a manager with one of the tea factories in Nandi.

Most of the tea companies have switched to wood fuel to cut down on operational costs following increased electricity bills .

“Tea farming is no longer a major profit making venture like it was before. It has been over taken by other businesses like diary farming and horticulture which attracts better profits,” says Joel Marindany from Chepkumia, Nandi District.

The row in the tea industry has been complicated further by high cost of fertiliser imported Kenya Tea development Authority (KTDA) recently.

Whereas the agency says the inputs will be sold at Sh2, 200 agriculture minister William Ruto insists that the fertiliser will be sold at Sh2, 000 for a 50 kilogramme bag.

Mr Ruto says the move is aimed at protecting tea farmers from exploitation from greedy directors.

He accuses the agency of failure to solve problems facing small scale farmers after the directors went ahead and imported expensive fertiliser.

Mr Ruto has warned of stern measures against the management board of KTDA unless it reduces the fertiliser prices and address issues affecting tea farmers.