CHAPTER V 172
5.4 Problems faced by the Management in the Tea Estates in Assam
5.4.1 Shortage of Quality Labour
conduct the enquiry. An individual should not be held guilty unless proved through the enquiry.
(ii) The enquiry or disciplinary action should follow the principle of impartiality or consistency. In case of identical types of misconducts and indiscipline in identical circumstances there should not be any difference in the disciplinary actions taken.
(iii) The disciplinary actions must follow the principle of impersonality and consistency.
The actions based on such principle are objective, rational, and not taken on emotional ground.
(iv) The disciplinary action must have provision for defending the offender.
both absenteeism and attrition in the tea estates. The permanent workers who are provided with housing facilities in the labour lines, have their bases there while they move out of the estate in search of work and get engaged in daily wage work outside the estate. The various avenues of earning daily wages out of the plantation work include construction related work, getting engaged in domestic work in households of nearby towns and other help them earn more in comparison to what they could by working in the plantation, either in field or in the factory. Thus, this is leading to high absenteeism of workers in the tea estates. It is resulting in low productivity of the workers; especially the permanent workers who are in the company’s payroll. The casual workers on the other hand, are extensively engaged in the plantation work mainly during the ‘season time’. They are said to be the more efficient in their work compared to the permanent workers as they are burdened by the obligation that they have to earn maximum during the ‘season time’ so that they can sustain for the entire year. This is true mainly for the workers who are engaged as pluckers during the said period of time as they get incentives for plucking extra amount of leaves per day, i.e. beyond 22 kgs. Per day, they get 1.50 per kg. The respondents from the management category believes that the government provides with various welfare schemes for the BPL families and thus the workers extract maximum benefits from the same. The various construction projects that is being carried out in the towns close to the tea estates are opportunities for the tea workers to get engaged in and earn much more compared to the daily wages in the plantations.
There is a trend of ‘reverse migration’ that is being witnessed in the tea industry in Assam.
The tea estates in Assam have been facing major economic crisis since almost a decade.
As stated earlier, the Adivasi workers were made to migrate into the region to establish the tea estates in the nineteenth century. Since then they have been settled in the state in the tea estates, i.e. in the labour lines or in the nearby settlements known as bastis. Their
standard of living is low and there is rampant poverty due to the minimal wages that they are entitled to. It has been found that even the statutory welfare measures are not taken by the management of the estates as put forth under the Plantations Labour Act 1951 and the Factories Act 1948. Even basic medical and educational facilities are ignored by the management. After the growth of unionism among the tea plantation workers in Assam, the owners and management have been pressurized to take care of the basic facilities that need to be provided to the workers. As there is seen to be a slight improvement in the educational facilities that are provided to the children of the workers, like establishment of primary schools within the estates, transportation to schools and colleges situated outside the estates, etc, there is seen to be a change in the perspective of the workers’ children.
Even most of the plantation workers do not wish to engage their children in the estates’
work. The All Assam Tea Tribes Students Association and other students’ body try to exercise control over the recruitment of staff for official work in the estates. Their demand is that the educated children of the plantation workers should be given priority to be recruited as staff in the estates. In most of the cases they are given preferences as stated by the management. However, there are unrests taking place in the estates if and when such demands are not fulfilled. The argument that the management places is that in most of the cases they do not fulfill the educational qualification that is required to suit a particular job profile. Also it is seen that most of the workers children prefer to work outside the plantation system and seek opportunities in other sectors. Thus, there is that there is a trend of reverse migration whereby the present generation of the s are undergoing occupational mobility and shifting to urban areas within as well as outside the state. They are seeking avenues of earning outside. This is contributing to the labour crunch that the tea industry in Assam has been facing.
Retrenchment
Organizations in order to cut down excessive overhead expenses to continue their operations or sustain in the competitive market, reduce manpower through new policies and strategies.