Tea plantations supplying supermarkets accused of sexual exploitation

Women working on Kenyan farms supplying some of the UK's most popular tea brands are being sexually exploited by their supervisors, an investigation has found. 

Panorama undercover filming - BBC© BBC

More than 70 women working at plantations providing popular teas including PG Tips, Lipton and Sainsbury's Red Label said they were facing abuse.

A BBC investigation filmed local bosses on plantations run by two British companies allegedly pressuring an undercover reporter to have sex with them.

Women interviewed for the joint investigation by Africa Eye and Panorama said work was so scarce in the area that they had little choice but to submit to sexual demands from their bosses.  

Tea plantation - SOPA Images/LightRocket© Provided by The Telegraph

"I can't lose my job because I have kids," said one woman.

A divisional manager stopped one woman's job until she agreed to have sex with him, she said.

"It is just torture; he wants to sleep with you, then you get a job," she said. 

The investigation filmed bosses pressuring women to have sex at plantations run by Unilever and James Finlay & Co.

Three managers have been suspended following the allegations.  

PG Tips teabags© Provided by The Telegraph

A reporter posing as a worker called Katy was invited to an interview in a hotel room by a James Finlay & Co recruiter called John Chebochok. Women had alleged that Mr Chebochok, an employee for 30 years, was a “predator”.

The reporter was allegedly pinned against a window by Mr Chebochok and asked to undress.

"I'll give you some money, then I'll give you a job. I have helped you, help me," he said.

"We'll lie down, finish and go. Then you come and work." 

Boasted of zero tolerance

The company said Mr Chebochok had been immediately suspended and reported to the police after the investigation.

The reporter also worked undercover at a farm which was run at the time by Unilever. At an induction day, a divisional manager called Jeremiah Koskei boasted about the company's zero-tolerance policy towards sexual harassment. Later he invited her to a hotel bar and allegedly tried to pressure her into having sex.

Unilever said it was "deeply shocked and saddened" by the allegations. The company later sold its operation during the investigation. Lipton Teas, the new owner, said it had suspended two managers and ordered a full investigation.