We lost Sh1bn due to strike, tea multinationals say

Multinational tea firms say they lost close to a billion shillings following a three-week strike that paralysed picking and sales at the Mombasa auction.

It is estimated the firms lost millions of kilos as employees pushed for a 30 per cent wage increase awarded by the court in 2014.

Kenya Tea Growers Association (KTGA) chief executive Apollo Kiarii said a lot of the bushes were overgrown and the leaves could not meet the standards required for processing.

“The losses that we have compiled so far are close to Sh1 billion resulting from unprocessed tea that has led to loss of revenues,” said Mr Kiarii.

He said the factories are only plucking what can be processed while the overgrown leaves are discarded. The striking workers resumed work last week after the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi issued a directive requiring them to resume duty pending hearing of the case.

READ: Finlays counts huge losses from workers’ strike, attacks

Peter Kimanga, a director at Global Tea and Commodities, said tea from the five companies whose workers were on strike is now getting to the auction. 

The absence of multinationals at the auction cut the volume of tea offered for sale in the last two weeks by about 2.600,000 kilogrammes.

Multinationals in Kenya account for 30 per cent of the tea available at the auction.