James Finlay workers get nod to sue tea firm in Scotland over injuries

A James Finlays tea plantation in Kericho. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

A case in which current and former workers have sued Kericho-based James Finlay Tea Company over alleged injuries arising from unsafe working conditions will now be heard in Scotland.

Lord Weir of Scotland’s Court of Session yesterday allowed the more than 700 workers to sue James Finlay Kenya under a class action lawsuit.

A class action is a legal proceeding in which one or several plaintiffs bring a lawsuit on behalf of a larger group.

James Finlay Kenya is a Scottish company incorporated in 1925 and is part of a multi-national group that can trace its roots back to Aberdeen, Scotland in the 18th century. The former tea pickers claim they suffered serious neck and back injuries due to the poor working conditions on the company’s tea farms in Kericho.

Queens Counsel Andrew Smith in his application to the Court of Sessions in Edinburgh had requested that an advertisement be done in Kenyan newspapers on the matter before the court.

Mr Smith requested that the application and the precise terms of the advert be submitted in court for approval before publication.