Abstract: Assam is the largest producers of tea in India, with its tea industry playing a prominent role in national economic growth. The tea garden workers came to Assam for the purpose to work in the tea industry during the time of East Indian Company. These tea garden community has contributed for the growth and development of the tea estates in Assam. However, despite their fundamental contribution tea garden workers in Assam continue to face socio-economic challenges, the challenges persist in spite of the existence of various labour laws and welfare policies aimed at protecting worker’s rights. This paper examines major challenges faced by tea garden community in Assam and analyses the laws and policies governing the rights and welfare of the tea garden workers under the Constitution of India, 1950, the Plantation Labour Act,1951, the Code on Wages, 2019 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 in India. It assesses the potential effectiveness of the existing welfare laws and policies in improving the living condition of tea garden community in Assam. Furthermore, the paper provides comparative analysis of Assam’s tea plantation with those in Kerala and Tamil Nadu to underscore the difference in labour rights, working condition and welfare benefits. The research paper is relevant because it also suggests some recommendations for improving the lives of the tea garden workers, ultimately resulting in labour justice.
Keywords: Tea garden community, Labour welfare, Socio economic challenges, Labour rights, Working Conditions, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu.
Introduction
There has been a rapid growth of tea garden in many states such as Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, especially since the 1990s, mainly due to the increase in the global demand of tea[1].Assam is the largest producer of quality tea in India, contributing about 55% to country’s total tea production[2].The tea garden workers of Assam is part of a community of over two million migrant labourers, who worked under the conditions of indentured servitude in the tea plantation industry, contributing to the production of tea for a rapidly expanding and profitable global market[3].The tea tribes in Assam are listed as OBC/MOBC, these Tea Tribes people are known as ‘Tea Garden Community’, Tea Garden Labours, Coolies and Adivasis. The Tea Garden Community are the backbone of the tea industry[4].
The commercial cultivation of tea in Assam was instituted by the British in the early in the 19th century after Robert Bruce discovered the native Assam tea plant (Camellia Sinensis Var Assamica) in the year 1823. The Assam Tea Company was established in 1839, becoming the first commercial tea enterprise in India. Beginning in 1850s the tea industry rapidly expanded[5]. As the cultivation expanded the Assam people were not willing to work in the plantation, leading to labour shortage[6].
The British initiate a large-scale recruitment process to bring in labours from other parts of India, particularly from tribal and economically weaker regions. Labours were majorly recruited from Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, west Bengal, Telangana. Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh[7]. The labours were transported under the Indenture System that subjected them exploitation and bonded labour. The British tea estate management imposed harsh working conditions, long working hours, low wages etc. The Tea District Labour Association was later formed to regulate recruitment, but still exploitation continued[8]. The government has implemented various welfare schemes for the tea garden workers, but the delivery of the service is inconsistence due to corruption, poor governance and lack of awareness among the tea garden workers.
Even though the tea garden community contributes significantly to Assam’s and the Nation’s economy they remain ignored, oppressed, exploited and backward because of the gap between the written law and the reality.
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[7]Id
[8]Bhoje, G., 2017. ‘A Historical Review of Tea Plantation’. International Journal of Research in Engineering, IT and Social Sciences, 7(5), p.21.