Workers state problem before joining fete

By Vitalis Kimutai

Hundreds of workers in tea estates held a peaceful demonstration to push for a pay rise and better working conditions.

The workers waving twigs and placards demonstrated at Nandi Hills town before proceeding to the local stadium for the Labour Day celebrations.

Led by the Kenya Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union (KPAWU) national treasurer Joshua Oyuga, the workers said the high cost of living had left their families without food.

"Workers at tea estate are unable to feed their families from the Sh6,000 they are paid," said Mr Oyuga.

Cost of maize

He said the cost of maize had risen to Sh110 from the Sh30 in the last three months, making it unaffordable.

"It is only the intervention of the Government and large scale tea companies that will salvage the situation to enable affected workers take the normal three meals a day," said Oyuga.

The workers said they could no longer afford to educate their children and provide medical care for their families as a result of the skyrocketing cost of living.

Majority of workers in the tea estates are paid according to the number of kilogrammes of green tea they pick.

Oyuga challenged companies in tea growing zones to improve workers’ welfare for them to meet the current cost of living.

The workers also called on tea companies to withdraw the use of tea plucking machines, which had rendered most of them jobless.

"Hundreds of workers have lost their source of livelihood after the machines were introduced and the Government has failed to intervene," they said.

Most children have been withdrawn from school as a result of lack of fees following the laying off of their parents by the local large-scale tea companies.