Nairobi — More than 800 tea pickers have been sent home after a multinational company in Kenya introduced tea picking machines.

The workers of the Eastern Produce Tea Company in Nandi were ordered to vacate company houses immediately and those defying the directive were warned that they would be arrested and charged with trespass.

The company's decision protests from the Kenya Plantation and Agriculture Workers Union (KPAWU). National treasurer Joshua Oyuga asked President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to intervene and save the tea pickers' jobs.

Agreement

Mr Oyuga told a press conference the firm had gone against the collective bargaining agreement which companies signed with the Kenya Tea Growers Union, KPAWU and the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) by firing such a large number of workers from one tea estate.

"The move to send the 800 tea pickers home came soon after the government summoned for a meeting with large-scale tea companies, Cotu secretary general Francis Atwoli and the Federation of Kenya Employers to discuss how to save the hundreds of families who rely on the tea industry," said Mr Oyuga.

Those sent home had supported the union's stand that workers should not pick tea on contract because they were being underpaid, he said.

A top manager at the tea company, Mr Jacob Katta last week told Labour Permanent Secretary Beatrice Kituyi that the firm had cut spending by half since it started using machines in some tea estates.

Mr Katta praised the machines, saying they could be manned by a few people and dismissed union leaders' concerns that the quality of tea could be compromised.

He said the company had embarked on a programme to upgrade some of its factories, which were meant to process tea picked by hand, to process tea picked by the machines.

But Mr Oyuga said the layoffs led to increased crime as many people were left jobless.

Education

"A large number of school children whose parents worked at the tea companies have dropped out and will have their education interrupted unless the move to send workers home was suspended."

The official added that the union had written to the government and tea companies of the plan to strike unless the matter was resolved and workers treated with dignity.

During her visit to the Nandi and Kericho tea growing areas last week, Ms Kituyi said the government was concerned about the high number of workers sent home after the machines were introduced.

Union leaders told her that one company had fired 10,000 tea pickers since last year and was about dismiss others.