Cold treatment to tea workers

Tea stocks might be in high demand today but while we sip our hot cuppa and trade these stocks, give a thought to the plight of the workers on tea gardens, who work under sub-human conditions.

Recently a Survey on workers in Assam and West Bengal tea estates was conducted by the international Fact Finding Mission (FFM); this was following the death of some workers at GP Goenka owned Duncans Tea estates. In several of the Duncans group gardens, such as Bagracote, Nagaisuree and Birpara, several tea workers - both working and retired - died after April, when the wage problem were reported. Workers and garden unions attributed the deaths to lack of nutritious food. Imagine, people who toil to make our mornings brighter, die of malnutrition?

Coming back to the survey, FFM said that tea garden workers and their families continue to earn wages way below the amount meant to ensure decent living and face food shortage. Currently, a labourer is being paid a pitiable daily wage of Rs 122.50, which did not suffice for the minimum expenditure of workers' families. 70% of the work force is women.

The survey also found that from the average price of tea, which is paid by an international or Indian consumer, a worker gets paid less than even 1% per kg.

And yes, Goenka is scouting around for buyers for his tea estates; he wants out; he will use the money raised to pay off the wages to the labourers.