Treat tea sector labour unrest as case of emergency

The Kenyan tea industry is, yet again, in the grip of labour anxiety that if not well handled could snowball into a prolonged sector paralysis.

On the one hand are the Kenya Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union (KPAWU) officials who are agitating for double-digit wage increases, while multinationals have been urging sober negotiations.

Caught in between are thousands of tea farm workers who stand to lose the most from the impasse.

The union was formed to cater for workers’ interests, but is increasingly becoming undemocratic. By scrambling to stop workers who honestly want to opt out of employment to pursue other interests, and forcing them to pay collective bargaining dues to a union that they disagree with, KPAWU is slowly becoming the oppressor.

The country’s foreign exchange inflow of more than $1.46 billion (Sh147 billion) per annum, a critical source of hard currency needed to service international debt obligations, is also at stake.

There is need for the national and county governments, unionists and political leaders to come to the negotiating table and chart a sustainable path for the industry.

The economic impact that the tea industry has on Kenya’s economy is immense, hence the need for clear-headed reflections on its long-term future.

According to Kenya Tea Growers Association data, more than 200,000 Kenyans work on tea plantations across the country, in turn supporting 1.8 million family, relatives and friends through their income.

In addition, tea multinationals all support multiple social projects including schools and hospitals in their localities.

Wage increases of the kind that KPAWU officials are pushing for could easily collapse a sector that is the envy of many across the world. The impasse over wages in the sector, however, illuminates a simple fact. The status quo is unaffordable.

With monthly pay of up to Sh17,000 prior to this year’s wage increases, Kenyan tea workers already earned more than the government stipulated minimum wage of slightly below Sh13,000.

Statistics also show that they take home more than their counterparts in the coffee and other agricultural sectors.

By awarding eight per cent wage increases for the years 2014 and 2015, multinational tea companies which employ more than 40 per cent of the sector labour force have sought to meet the workers’ aspirations halfway.

It is important for the union officials to also tone down on their astronomical demands for salary reviews to avoid lifting their members’ expectations to unrealistic levels.

There will always be jobs in Kenyan tea but no industry stays static and we have to recognize that more efficient producers that are in a big way helped by mechanisation are already giving Kenya a run for its money in the global tea auctions.

We need proper debate about the future shape of the tea industry and how to secure jobs for the next generation of Kenyan tea workers and not a discussion based on Union self-interest backed by false myths of huge profits and disadvantaged workers.

The cost pressure has been building, making it ever more urgent for the country to address its labour industry structure as workers’ wages alone have shot to more than half of big tea farm’s annual turnover.

The alternative to a sober debate on the ballooning wage bill is workers now facing a choice between accepting reasonable wages offered by the company or voluntary separation with the employer.

The unhelpfully aggressive union has once again moved to court seeking injunctions against the voluntary termination of labour contracts.

It is indeed the right of every Kenyan to seek justice in court, and the tea multinationals have a duty and obligation to honour outcomes of the judicial processes.

Past experience however shows that labour disputes are acrimonious and divisive, in most cases widening the wedge between the employer and the worker whom the aggressive unions purport to protect.

It is mainly due to KPAWU’s confrontational stance that a collective bargaining agreement that was supposed to be implemented four years ago is still the subject of contention.

Yet the way forward for the industry is visibly clear for the level-headed.

Even at the current wage levels, tea multinationals have been struggling to stay afloat as their profit margins narrow by the day.

In addition to lowering their wage demands, union officials could also help by, for example, not standing in the way of workers who wish to take voluntary separation which is offered in line with already signed collective bargaining agreements.

Genuine concessions on both sides are the only assurance to a more sustainable future for the industry.

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