Farmers threaten to uproot crop over labour cost
A farmer plucks tea in Gaturuturu village. Tea farmers argue that labourers were now earning more than what tea farmers collected. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- They noted that they were paid Sh20 per kilogramme of tea sold, out of which Sh15.50 went to the tea pickers.
- They cited some multi-national tea companies in South Africa, which they said were forced to shut down a few years ago because of high labour costs.
Over 10,000 small-scale tea farmers in Nandi County have threatened to uproot their tea plantations due to increased labour costs driven up by last week’s court order increasing workers’ wages.
The farmers argue that labourers were now earning more than what tea farmers collected.
They declared they would not implement the 30 per cent salary rise the Industrial Court awarded tea workers under the Kenya Plantation and Agriculture Workers Union (KPAWU) and the Kenya Tea Growers Association (KTGA).
The farmers warned that high labour costs spelt doom for the tea industry in Kenya. They resolved to uproot tea crops and, instead, plant blue gum trees, which require less labour.
They noted that they were paid Sh20 per kilogramme of tea sold, out of which Sh15.50 went to the tea pickers.
Through their representatives, Reverend Benjamin Chumo and Mr Wilson Kosgey, the farmers said the higher salaries that unions were demanding would cripple the tea industry.
Speaking at Nandi Hill town on Saturday, the two officials faulted the directive by Judge Monica Mbaru, which they said would also see the workers get leave allowance, travel and medical allowances.
The retirement age was also set at 60 years.
They cited some multi-national tea companies in South Africa, which they said were forced to shut down a few years ago because of high labour costs.
“The government should ensure the tea industry doesn’t collapse since it employs millions of Kenyans. The decision to increase the basic workers salary by 30 per cent for the 2014/2015 period spells doom for farmers,” said Rev Chumo.
Mr Kosgey added that the salary increase would scare investors in the tea industry into moving out of Kenya.
During his recent budget speech, Finance Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich said the government had removed the one per cent tax on export tea, which farmers have been demanding removed.
But the farmers now want the government to reduce tax on tea plucking machines, saying most of them were ready to import the machines to lower labour costs.
They explained that the decision by the small scale tea farmers from the Sireet Tea Company in Nandi Hills town to uproot their tea crop was because of the high costs of overheads.
According to the farmers, tea companies which used tea plucking machines paid Sh4 per kilogramme to each tea picker while those workers picking tea manually are paid Sh15.50 per kilogramme.
The farmers want President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy President William Ruto to intervene. Failure to do this would see thousands of tea pickers sacked, they said.
