Kenyan interim order stalls tea pickers' Scottish case

A Court of Session action by more than 1,000 Kenyan tea workers seeking compensation from the company that employed them has been temporarily halted by an order from a Kenyan court, the BBC has reported.

James Finlay Kenya Ltd obtained an interim anti-suit injunction in the Employment & Labour Relations Court in Nairobi, prohibiting the workers from pursuing their class action for musculoskeletal injuries allegedly suffered while working long hours in poor conditions on the company’s tea farms.

After losing an appeal in the Scottish court against the case being allowed to go ahead, James Finlay argued before the Nairobi court that the litigation constituted “an assault on the sovereignty of the Republic of Kenya" and violated the country's constitution. The "proper and natural forum" for a work injury dispute involving Kenyan workers governed by Kenyan law was in Kenya.

A further hearing in the Nairobi court when both sides are represented is scheduled for later this month.

A lawyer who acts for the workers described the move as a “very desperate attempt”. 

The company’s challenge in the Scottish courts was based on the claim not meeting the qualifying conditions for a class action, rather than the court not being a suitable forum to hear the case. In May the Inner House ruled that it had “no difficulty” in finding that the conditions were met.