Following an exposé by BBC Africa on how women in tea firms are sexually assaulted, beverage firm Starbucks has cancelled its tea purchase from Kenya’s James Finlay and Company which was part of its agricultural operations.
Through a statement, Starbuck said that it was "deeply concerned" and that it had taken "immediate action" to suspend buying from James Finlay and Company in Kenya.
More than 70 women on Kenyan tea farms, owned for years by two British companies, told the BBC they had been sexually abused by their supervisors.
Secret filming showed local bosses, on plantations, allegedly pressuring an undercover reporter for sex.
Through a quote in the BBC News article, UK retail chain Sainsbury’s, which also buys tea from Kenya, also indicated that it could stop buying the product from the local producers.
"These horrific allegations have no place in our supply chain,” read the quote.
James Finlays Kenya has termed the testimonies of the women in the exposé as deeply shocking and upsetting.
The company said it has since suspended managers accused of sexual harassment.
"We immediately suspended the two individuals featured in the BBC investigation and barred them from all Finlays' sites," the firm said.
The Kenya Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union (KPAWU) has demanded the two tea firms stop outsourcing labour through contractors with immediate effect.
The union in a statement on Wednesday said outsourcing of labour affects the rights and welfare of workers since they are forced to work at the mercy of contracted companies.
The union instead wants the two firms to offer direct employment to all the contracted employees.
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