Kenyan estate owners offer concessions to bridge salary divide
Tea farm owners hope to resolve a significant labor dispute with farmers by offering a temporary increase in salary while a broader deal is negotiated. The worker unrest and strike, which started about two weeks ago, has so far caused almost $6 million in damages as over a dozen plantations, some owned by multinational tea companies, have ceased operations. Latest numbers indicate that the plantations are sitting on over 9.5 million kilograms of unpicked green leaves, which would translate to 2.3 million kilograms of dry tea leaves. Plantation managers have improved their salary increase offer from 5 to 7-8 percent until an injunction against a previous ruling is settled.