Nandi residents want firms to scale down tea picking machines

Workers using tea picking machines at a farm in Nandi Hills, Nandi County. [File, Standard]

Nandi County residents want multinational tea companies to scale down the mechanisation of tea picking to reduce job losses among the youth.

They raised concern over the devastating economic impact of the introduction of tea-picking machines and malpractices in recruitment by some firms.

For the past week, Nandi Hills MP Bernard Kitur has led hundreds of youths in peaceful demonstrations to submit their demands for consideration by the respective multinational tea companies in Tinderet, Emgwen and Aldai sub-counties.

Geoffrey Mengich, one of the residents' representatives, said the massive adoption of tea-picking machines has rendered hundreds of youths jobless.

"We are not against the mechanisation of tea picking. We need a framework that would consider economic benefits for the community. What the companies have been doing is rampantly sacking employees and replacing them with machines," he said.

Mengich regretted that the once economically vibrant Nandi Hills town has been adversely affected, leading to a reduced population and low circulation of money.

The residents urged the government to intervene and regulate the use of tea-picking machines.

"The urban centre is slowly dying with real estate investors and businesses closing down. We have also witnessed a series of insecurity incidents in the estates where the youths have resorted to theft and criminal activities to earn a livelihood," said Mengich.

Kitur claimed that some companies blacklist workers involved in petty disciplinary cases, which denies them employment in other tea firms, as they replace them with tea-picking machines.

"We have initiated negotiations with multinationals, and we are looking forward to employing over 5,000 youths. Those who had been banned over flimsy grounds should be cleared and considered for recruitment," said the legislator.

During a public baraza, some women claimed that some estates' senior staff sexually abused and molested them in exchange for employment and called for government intervention.

Kitur said they want to have a framework for the firms' implementation of community social responsibility initiatives.

"We need to reach mutual agreements with the multinationals to come up with people's driven initiatives in identification and implementation of social development initiatives," he said.