A tea plucking machine at James Finlays Tea Estate in Kericho County. [File, Standard]
"I am glad to announce we have held a fruitful engagement with the top management of Finlays and hope we will have good working relations with the new investor. My commitment to putting the interests of the people of Kericho first is unwavering," Mutai said.
Other issues that were agreed upon are constituting a joint working group, comprising the county executive, legislature, and Brown Investment PLC, to oversee the transfer of ownership of Finlay.
At the same time, area senator Aaron Cheruiyot has also lodged a petition in the Senate to have the Kipsigis given back land allegedly grabbed by the British government.
In the petition, Cheruiyot claims Unilever Tea Kenya (Brook Bond), James Finlay Kenya (African Highlands), George Williamson (Changoi and Lelsa), Sotik Tea, Sotik Highlands, Kaisugu Tea, Mau Tea, Koru, and Fort Tenan farms are some of the parcels grabbed from the Kipsigis community.
Last month, representatives of large-scale tea producers appeared before the Senate Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee, chaired by Hillary Sigei (Bomet Senator), to defend themselves over the claims.
Another issue the Sri Lankan firm will have to contend with as they take over at James Finlay Tea Company, is the introduction of tea harvesting machines. Use of the machines has been opposed since their introduction in early 2000 as they have taken away many jobs.
Interviews by tea farms then revealed that they were saving up to Sh10 per kilo by using the machines.
Initially, they claimed in a report by the Tea Board of Kenya that the estates were spending an average of Sh5 in plucking costs since the introduction of the machines.
Use of tea plucking machines has been controversial with workers' unions opposed to them arguing they would render people jobless.
Kenya Planters and Agricultural Workers Union moved to court to challenge the use of the machines arguing a stand-alone machine replaces 100 workers while one operated by two people does the work of 25 workers, making this a hot issue for the incoming management of James Finlays.
However, Court of Appeal judges Patrick Kiage, Kathurima M'inoti, and Agnes Murgor, upheld the decision of the High Court on an appeal by the union, ruling there was no evidence of job loss.
The judges noted that even if the adoption of technology was going to result in redundancy, there was a prescribed procedure to protect the rights of the workers, which could easily have been invoked.
But the union demanded that Uniliver Kenya Tea Limited withdraw its tea harvesting machines. Unilever, however, returned to court seeking protection of its rights to mechanize and adopt technology in its operations.
Justice James Aaron Makau, in his judgment on January 28, 2021, said the company has a right to mechanize and adopt technology in its operations.
A case filed by former and current James Finlays employees in Scotland over injuries suffered while working in the plantations in Kericho and Bomet will likely present Browns Investment Plc with another headache.
In the case, over 1,000 former and current employees have accused the management of subjecting them to harsh and exploitative working conditions.
The tea pickers claim they suffered musculoskeletal injuries that affect the bones, muscles, ligaments, nerves, or tendons.
The case is pending in Scotland where a judge is expected to rule on whether the case should be heard there or in Kenya.
The sale deal came hot on the heels of a work for sex scandal aired in March, this year by BBC, in an investigative documentary.
The report pointed to allegations of sexual exploitation of tea workers at James Finlay Kenya Limited and Ekaterra (formerly Unilever Kenya).
It revealed that more than 70 women in the two companies had been abused sexually.
The National Assembly Committee Labour launched investigations into the alleged sexual abuse of tea workers following the expose but is yet to submit a report.
jchepkwony@standardmedia.co.ke