The UK law firm Leigh Day, representing the workers, said the London-based consumer goods multinational had agreed to make voluntary, or ex-gratia, payments to former workers at its subsidiary Unilever Tea Kenya, who were attacked by armed assailants at its plantation in Kericho. Unilever said that after an independent review it had identified people who missed out on financial support the company offered workers at the time. Seven people were killed and more than 50 women were raped at the plantation when violence broke out across Kenya in December 2007 over allegations of electoral fraud. The attacks were along ethnic lines – the Kalenjin against smaller groups, including Kisii, who made up the bulk of the plantation workers. However, the workers maintain they were not adequately compensated. Those who returned said they received a sum worth about £80 each, equivalent to one month’s wages, which they said was not proportionate to what they had suffered.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN