n By Hajera Blagg


committed to a full investigation. Although Lipton itself later offloaded the farms to another company, Browns, they committed to working with Browns, as their supplier of tea, to implement a new set of standards.


But for Unite and the IUF, it wasn’t enough to simply agree policies and consider the job done.


“One of my main concerns was that you can have all the policies in the world, but if they


aren’t properly implemented and monitored, then what’s the point of having them?” Bev noted. “It’s just a piece of paper that’s shoved in a drawer.”


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No consumer would want to buy a product knowing women are being sexually harassed, abused and in some cases even raped, just so we, in the Western world, can have a cup of tea


Bev Clarkson, Unite national officer


sex with her boss, while another said she was infected with HIV by a supervisor after being pressured to have sex with him.


A BBC Panorama reporter also went undercover to work on the farms. A recruiter arranged a job interview for the reporter, which was held in a hotel room, where a manager asked her to undress and touch him in exchange for a job.


At the time of filming, Unilever had just offloaded its tea business, then called Ekaterra, to private equity firm CVC, which later rebranded the business to Lipton Teas and Infusions.


Lipton Teas and Infusions immediately suspended abusive staff identified in the Panorama programme and


Tea story – From the harsh fields... 13 uniteLANDWORKER Summer 2025 ...to the comfy sofa


At the initial meeting in Manchester last year, Unite, the IUF and Lipton Teas agreed to develop a monitoring system and meet twice yearly. At a successive meeting in March, they agreed to a sexual harassment training programme which would be piloted at a test site before being rolled out at sites globally. Discussions are still ongoing.


Bev added that tackling sexual harassment and abuse across the Lipton Teas supply chain is only part of Unite and the IUF’s work.


“Our work is about human rights more broadly,” she explained, as she highlighted a recent victory at a Lipton Teas site in Turkey. The site had long recognised the affiliated Turkish union, but now that they were building an extended packing area, local management refused to allow union recruitment in the new part of the site.


“We argued that since they’re simply extending the site, it is in effect, the same site, so the union should have access to recruit,” Bev noted. “The employer said they didn’t have the authority to get involved because of Turkish law, which we disagreed with.”


At an impasse, Unite reps came up with what Bev called a “blinding” solution. At the time of the meeting, engineers at the Manchester site were working at the new site in Turkey installing machinery.


“Our two Unite reps then told management, if you don’t allow the union to recruit at the site, then we’ll make sure our Unite members working there currently don’t go back,” Bev recounted. “That’s when management’s entire demeanour changed, and they agreed right away to look into it.”


It is this transnational solidarity that’s having a real, tangible impact on workers’ rights across the world. And Unite and the IUF’s work is only just beginning.


Ultimately, Bev said such work has never been more urgent at a time when supply chains of our most cherished products grow ever longer and more complex.


“No consumer would want to buy a product knowing that women are being sexually harassed, abused and in some cases even raped, just so that we in the Western world can have a cup of tea,” Bev said. “They would much rather buy a box of PG Tips knowing that every part of the supply chain is ethically managed. Companies care about reputational damage – that’s why the pressure we’re putting on them is working.”


All photos: Alamy


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