Kenyan tea pickers on Scottish-run farm to pursue health issues in UK court

Prolonged bending to gather tea for James Finlay Kenya is argued to accelerate ageing of pickers' backs by up to 20 years

More than a 1,000 Kenyan tea pickers who say that harsh and exploitative working conditions on a Scottish-run tea farm have caused them crippling health complaints can now pursue their class action in an Edinburgh court.

Lawyers acting for the tea pickers have won an order from the court of session, Scotland's highest civil court, telling James Finlay Kenya Ltd (JFK) to abandon attempts to block the suit through the Kenyan courts.