CHAPTER III 101
3.2 Discrimination
3.2.4 Law and Order
There is lot of use of chemicals, pesticides and others sprayed on the plantation areas.
Inhaling those on a daily basis causes cancer and other diseases among the workers.
However, low percentage on the table shows the ignorance of the workers on the daily use of chemicals on the plantation area. There is no awareness on such hazard.
“We have to work in the field from 7 to 11 a.m. and then again from 1 to 4 p.m.
carrying huge baskets of tea leafs on their head. We carry a minimum of 30 kgs of leafs every day”.
The pluckers face problems in working under difficult weather conditions on the plantations all throughout the day carrying heavy baskets on their head resting on their back. Most of the women pluckers develop worst back and spine related problems at a very early age. Moreover, in order to earn incentives, the pluckers try their best to accumulate extra kilos of leafs to earn incentives. Thus, carrying forty kilos and above weight per day during the season time negatively impacts the heath of the workers.
Rights (1966). Moreover, they are enforced by the (admittedly rather weak) reporting systems of the ILO and the UN and are also very often repeated in state constitutions and labour laws with the result that they supposedly already enjoy legal protection at the national level too.
In some of the estates where field study has been conducted, it is seen that the police first approaches the management if a crime is reported from the estate. The manger of the estate is first consulted and then after taking permission from the manager, the police intervene into such issues that take place within the estate. If the workers file any complaint against the management of the estates, the police do not file an FIR immediately, they consult the managers first. But when a riot like situation takes place owing to to any injustice to the workers, the police is apprehensive to control the mob because they are less in number compared to the agitated mob. The media also portrays the workers as ‘cannibals’ and ‘uncivilized’ when they resort to violent means of expressing their anger. The government usually prefers to remain silent on such issues and intervenes only when the situation goes beyond control.
Apart from the discrimination meted out to the Adivasi workers by the management, the state is playing a mute role in protecting the rights of the workers and ensuring that the provisions of the various labour laws are efficiently implemented.
“In our estate in the year 2003, in a case of sexual abuse of a female worker, at the residence of the Assistant Manager at an estate in upper Assam, the person was not punished but only transferred. There was a case of sexual harassment of a female domestic worker by the Factory Manager at his residence. It instigated mob violence, strike and lock out took place in the estate. The Manager was
transferred and not suspended. No other disciplinary measure was taken against the offender. This clearly indicates the discrimination in giving justice to the workers”.
The above given quote was stated by worker in Jorhat in which an Assistant Manager easily got away without being punished. Such cases are usually suppressed by the management and the convict is acquitted by the court. Thus, the Adivasi workers do not get justice and the legal system discriminates them.
The Forest Department of the Assam Government has been involved in extensive eviction drive without any plan of rehabilitation leaving number of Adivasi workers homeless, mainly after the enforcement of the Forest Rights Act 2006. The section of the tea plantation workers who are mostly affected by the eviction are the casual workers of the tea estates and the ex- tea garden population settled in the nearby ‘bastis’. Such bastis are sometimes situated in the fringes of the forest areas. Hence the Forest Department carries out the eviction drives and many of the families are rendered homeless. They burnt down houses and as the result the families are left with no avenue to seek shelter.
Table 0-2 Indicators/ Factors of discrimination: Law and order
Serial Number
Districts Categories of respondents Male tea estate
workers
Female tea estate workers
Trade Union staff and members
1 Dibrugarh 8 10 7
2 Sibsagar 3 4 2
3 Jorhat 2 4 2
4 Golaghat 4 5 4
5 Sonitpur 2 3 3
6 Cachar 1 1 2
7 Kamrup 1 1 2
Table 3.2 highlights the degree of discrimination faced by the workers in matters of law and order especially in the premises of the estates. The management as well as the state play an equal role in oppressing the workers. When there is injustice done to the workers by anyone from the management, the workers are apprehensive to go to the nearby police stations to lodge a complaint. The reason being the police does not write FIR immediately on the other hand they contact the estate managers first and then reverse the case by finding fault with the workers. Thus, there have been numerous cases of workers taking law into their own hands. The media also mostly bring out an image of ‘savagery’ acts on the part of the workers. A deeper analysis would bring up the factors leading to the brutal attacks on the managers and other management staff of the estates.
Another crisis faced by the workers is that a huge amount of wages is deducted from the workers’ earning in the name of PF and electricity bills. There is no question to where their money is spent. The women workers, whose husbands are alcoholics, face great financial problems. All their earnings are spent on the household expenses and yet it is difficult to make ends meet. In the recent past, there have been cases of suicide of some
members residing in the labour lines due to some personal problems, sometimes also for financial burden. A number of estates witness various cases of theft, physical violence among the workers which are discussed and solved in the workers meetings. Some of them are reported to the police. In the case of sexual harassment of the women worker by the Assistant Manager, the case was taken to the management by the union. There is domestic violence in the labour- lines mostly caused by alcoholism.
Children of the Adivasi tea plantation workers, living in the nearby villages and bastis (settlements) are involved in cleaning some of the parts of the factory unit and the plantation areas. They receive half the wage- rate of what and adult worker gets. Child- labour exists in the tea plantation system, though the management declines such allegations. Children are exploited to a large extent. They prefer going to work than to school for earning a meager amount.
The managers live a luxurious life while the workers cannot afford two square meals a day. They have to live in poverty and hunger on a daily basis. In the year 2006, there was a major conflict for an incident of death of a worker while trying to break a wall. It was a fatal accident of a worker who was involved in work in the factory. The wall collapsed on the worker and he died on the way to hospital. The ambulance did not reach on time. The workers were agitated at the irresponsibility and ignorance of the management and the workers group started attacking the bunglows (An expanded independent house with a villa-like architectural design) of the Manager and the Welfare Officer. They somehow managed to escape. There was strike and lock-out was ordered from the management.
This led to loss of pay of the workers. This leaves no scope of demanding their rights.