Tea pickers smash harvesting machines
Kenyan tea pickers are protesting automation by trashing the machines brought in to replace them. Recent demonstrations in the Kericho region have resulted in one dead worker, 23 injured, and the destruction of $1.2 million worth of machinery owned by the makers of Lipton. Some machines brought in could replace 100 workers, in a country where the unemployment rate is close to 14 per cent. Working conditions are another issue: James Finlay Kenya Ltd is currently being sued in Scottish Court by 1,300 Kenyan workers who claim they suffered “musculoskeletal injuries” from picking. The firm’s managing director said they may have hurt their backs while carrying water as children and that the Scottish court would not understand how this “cultural difference” would impact on the damages claims. A BBC investigation recently uncovered sexual exploitation of women employed by JFK in Kenya. The company has dismissed two contractors.
Photograph Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images