IUF
Uniting Food, Farm and Hotel Workers World-Wide
65,000 Indian Tea Plantation Workers Unemployed and Destitute
Posted to the IUF website 10-Mar-2003Share this article.
In the Indian states of Assam, West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, 65,000 workers have lost their employment following the closure or abandonment of the plantations by the employers.
The current crisis in the Indian tea industry has been precipitated by the steep fall in auction prices manipulated by the tea traders and brokers.
Plantation owners have used the situation to downsize their activities and are transferring the financial burden to the workers, an overwhelming number of which are women. They have been left without any means to survive in remote and isolated rural areas, where the plantations were situated. In addition, education facilities for their children and basic medical care and amenities have been withdrawn, leading to an unprecedented humanitarian crisis with famine, illnesses, deaths and suicides as a consequence.
Tamil Nadu tea plantation worker
The recent ICFTU 8th World Women�s Conference, which brought together 500 delegates in Melbourne from February 18-21, was informed about the situation of the tea plantation workers in India and unanimously supported the IUF's demands that the Government of India and the respective state governments take the following immediate steps:
- deliver immediate humanitarian aid to the affected plantation workers in the form of food, water and medicine
- identify the employers responsible to ensure that all outstanding wages are paid quickly and all obligations to employees, under the law, are fulfilled without delay
- investigate and review the processes which have led to this market-driven humanitarian crisis in the Indian tea industry and take remedial measures
- consult with the unions of the tea workers concerned through the "All India Tea Workers Co-ordination Committee" within which all major unions linked to different national centres are co-operating. (The co-ordinating secretariat is: IUF SAEO, e-mail: [email protected])
We appeal to all affiliated unions to write to the Indian Ministers of Labour and Commerce requesting that these demands are urgently taken into consideration in order to prevent further suffering among these workers and their families. The sample letter below may serve as a model.
Model letter
To: Shri Saheb Singh Verma
Minister of Labour
Government of India
Fax: + 91 11 23 71 17 08
and
To: Shri Arun Jaitley
Minister of Commerce
Government of India
Fax:+ 91 11 23 01 99 47/+ 91 11 23 38 42 41
Dear Sir,
We have been informed by our international organisation, the IUF, of the plight of tea workers in India resulting from the drastic fall in tea auction prices over the past few years. As of today, 20 tea plantations in West Bengal, 10 plantations and 10 tea factories in Kerala, 2 plantations in Tamil Nadu and 8 plantations in Assam have closed, affecting more than 65,000 workers.
We are aware that the situation of the tea workers is worsening day by day and more tea plantations are being closed and abandoned. We have also noted that the closures of tea plantations are taking place in an ad hoc manner without any legal obligations being followed or met with. As many as 20,000 tea plantation workers in Kerala alone have not received wages for as long as 20 months.
Matters are taking a turn for the worst with tea buyers and traders resorting to disruptive methods at the auction centres. We suspect that the tea auction prices have steadily been declining due to foul play by the tea brokers, buyers and auctioneers. This is resulting in extreme cases of hunger, starvation deaths and suicides (so far we know of at least 20) by many workers. Women in these areas are being forced into prostitution for mere survival.
We therefore strongly appeal to the Government of India to:
- deliver immediate humanitarian aid to the affected plantation workers in the form of food, water and medicine
- identify the employers responsible to ensure that all outstanding wages are paid quickly and all obligations to employees, under the law, are fulfilled without delay
- investigate and review the processes which have led to this market-driven humanitarian crisis in the Indian tea industry and take remedial measures
- consult with the unions of the tea workers concerned through the "All India Tea Workers Co-ordination Committee" within which all major unions linked to different national centres are co-operating. (The co-ordinating secretariat is: IUF SAEO, e-mail: [email protected])
We further demand that you take strong actions to immediately resume the tea auction centres ensuring a fair, good and deserving price to the tea to bring the industry out of crisis. The Government of India should take immediate and punitive action onon brokers and buyers boycotting the auction and hold them responsible for the crisis.
We look forward to your immediate support and co-operation in dealing with the serious situation facing the tea industry and the millions of workers it employs.
Yours sincerely,
Please send copies of your correspondence to the IUF secretariat. We thank you in advance for your solidarity and support.