Tucked away in another world beyond social and media scrutiny, the life of tea garden workers is basically terrible. This has been proven by much research but the situation has not changed. In fact chances of changing are low. The sector is based on poor wages. This has several reasons behind it. And not all are economic.

One fact that is being missed is that any appeal to the government means appealing to an owner. The government owns and operates several gardens and reports suggest the conditions of the workers are the worst in those. So how sympathetic or fair the GOB can be can be guessed.

The reality is that tea-garden workers are experiencing economic segregation akin to racism which is common in any so-called nation state. Only the majority has full rights in all the South Asian societies.  The tea garden workers are decidedly from a different ethnic background. When a ruling class claims its entire identity is based on ethnicity-Bengali- the chances other ethnic groups will also have equal rights is not realistic.    

Read: Tea workers call off strike, return to work with previous wage of Tk 120

Functional slavery?

According to a study conducted by Shahjalal University on behalf ILO in 2016, the main reason why tea garden workers do join the garden is due to lack of options.  

·         It said that the majority of the workers decided to work in the gardens due to ancestral connections. Others said they had no other alternatives. ( 63.2%)  

·         Any tea plantation worker who does not work in the gardens or is not registered as permanent workers is not permitted to possess or live in the labour line . As the workers don’t have land , inside or outside the garden they have no choice but to work in the garden.

·         Recruitment process is informal and 93% of workers are under informal contract.

The reason why these people have no choice of employment is because they have no education or skills and no one wants to give it to them. If they do, such a denied population stuck to the gardens without any choice will depart and the tea sector will be hurt if not collapse. So the facts are obvious that no significant improvements in the conditions of the workers will happen as that will go against the interest of the owners which includes the government.

The government as the main buyer and seller also makes more profit than others so the wisdom of appealing to the government who are a beneficiary of the dismal condition doesn’t make much logic.

It’s important to set up a Tea Workers’ Wages and Benefits commission to identify what can be done. But who will do it ? One is however concerned that the sector may have been making profit by sustaining the current conditions and any fair wages will be resisted by all as it is not “feasible” in a chronically inefficient economic system.