Tea pickers threaten to strike

By Titus Too

Kenya Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union (KPAWU) has threatened to call for a strike if tea-growing companies do not stop using machines.

The union said mechanisation of the industry would affect jobs for more than 28,000 in Nandi and South Rift regions.

The KPAWU National Treasurer Joshua Oyuga said some multinational companies were now forcing workers to resign.

Oyuga said the companies had been allowed to use machines for experimental purposes on only three percent of the total plucking areas but have increased the mechanised acreage.

He said the Central Organisation of Trade Unions Secretary General Francis Atwoli had issued a strike intention notice to Kenya Tea Growers Association.