Production of tea (over 51 percent of total tea in the country and 13 percent of global tea production) has been one of Assam's strongest economic growth contributors. Historical background of the growth of the tea industry in Assam reveals an evolving dynamic of industrial relations both from its structural and operational perspectives.
Introduction
Assam produces over fifty-one percent of India's total tea and thirteen percent of global tea production. Tea is one of the most important currency commodities for the state and the country.
Review of Literature
History of Tea
The influence of the Singpho people (a tribe) has been very significant in the development of the tea industry in Assam. After the establishment of the first tea plantation at Chabua in Upper Assam, the number of tea plantations in the state increased.
Extent of Migration of Labourers and the Growth of the Indian Tea Industry
They were unwilling to work under the subordination of the British as most of the local people owned agricultural land. Many tea strains also originate from the state currently known as Jharkhand.
Class Formation and the Growth of Trade Unionism
- The Social Dominance Theory
The trade union movement has a greater role to play in the revival and sustainability of the industry. A tendency has developed in most of the tea industries to exploit the workers and deprive them of their rights.
Industrial Relations in Tea Estates in Assam
- Approaches to Industrial Relations
Characteristics and interactions between the key actors in the employment relationship - labor relations, management and government. The parties often refer to the outcome of the negotiation as a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) or as a collective employment agreement (CEA).
Tea Production in India
The activities of the two previous bodies were largely limited to regulation of tea cultivation and export of tea as required by the International Tea Agreement then in force, and promotion of tea consumption. On the import of tea from Kenya and Sri Lanka, the planters said that failure in quality control and garden management could be other reasons responsible for the fall in the industry in Assam.
Government and the Indian Tea Industry
The Commission has given a number of recommendations on various aspects of labor relations in the country. The Industrial Relations Commission will certify unions as representative unions for membership verification.
Tea Industry: Questions of Gender
Supervision of tea workers is usually done by men of high status in plantation villages and 'work lines'. There is a specific social and hierarchical division of labor that prevails in the plantation system. It is an accepted fact that female workers are economically much more important than male workers in the plantation system.
Research Gap
Even if there is a representative for the female tea picker within the union, she does not exercise any power.
Rationale for the Topic
Research Questions
Objectives
Methodology
The labor conditions in the tea estates in Cachar are worse compared to the other tea producing districts (Mishra, et al 2012). The rationale for selecting the four categories of respondents for the study is that they are the key stakeholders of industrial relations in the tea industry. It is the study of the content with reference to the meanings, references and intentions contained in the messages.
Chapter Scheme of the Thesis
In the third chapter, the formation of the class of tea plantation workers, commonly known as the 'Kools', is discussed, the discrimination faced by the casual workers, the working and living conditions and their grievances with management are analyzed. This chapter discusses the phenomenon of gendered division of labor in the tea plantation industry and the significance of the contribution of women workers in the tea industry. The final chapter summarizes the findings of the study, the limitations of the study, and opportunities for further research in this area.
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Phase I: Pre-Independence India (pre-1947)
- Systems of Recruitment
In 1840, two-thirds of the Government's experimental gardens were transferred to the Assam Company, rent free for the first years. In short, the entire workforce in the Surma Valley is not under contract in terms of the Act. The author believes that in a few years only a small percentage of the Coolies in the Assam Valley will be in the same position.
Phase II: Post 1947 especially since 1951; after the introduction of the Plantation
It saw the beginning of liberalization and gradual withdrawal of the state from economic activities and the industrial relations scenario. In the field of industrial relations, the development of the Tripartite Consultation System was one of the most important processes. The intervention of the State in matters of industrial disputes was emphasized as it was believed that this could help to check the growth of unrest.
Phase III: since 1991; with the implementation of the New Economic Policy,
- Influence of Globalisation on Industrial Relations in the Tea Industry: An analysis of the
Since the introduction of the New Economic Policy in India in 1991, significant changes have taken place. There are two categories of people who have made gains in the crisis of the tea industry. Dunlop (2001) defines industrial relations as “the complex interrelationships between managers, employees and government agencies”.
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Migration
- Ethnic Identity
- Identity Politics
- Present trend of Migration
There are variations in the degree of assimilation of tea plantation workers to the dominant language groups in the region. The historic migration of tea tribes from other states to tea estates in Assam has changed the traditional family pattern. There is an increasing migration of plantation workers from the rural areas of the state's tea estates to urban settings across the country.
Discrimination
- Differential Wage Patterns
- Living Conditions
- Work Hazards
- Law and Order
However, the management and the state play an ignorant role in intervening in the plight of the plantation workers. These are also some of the significant factors of shortage of tea plantation workers. He argues that laws should strengthen the promotion of workers' human rights.
Plight of the Casual Workers
- Lack of Welfare Facilities
- Lack of Representation of Casual Workers in Trade Unions
- Discrimination in Engagement in Work and Pay of Casual Workers
Usually, most of the casual workers are relatives of the permanent workers who stay in the labor lines. Few of the casual workers also complained that the unions in the estates were dominated by permanent workers. Therefore, the casual workers feel ignored by other workers and members of the trade unions.
Implementation Deficiency of Social Security Measures
Workers in most cases do not have access to government hospitals outside the estate. A weekly amount is deducted from the workers' daily salary as an insurance fund. The workers are of the opinion that the workers' insurance funds are consumed and spent by the management.
Trade Unionism in the Tea Estates in Assam
Management also pressures union members to suppress workers' problems. The members are largely influenced by the management and do not serve the purpose of the workers. There are a total of 9 female respondents who are members of the trade unions in the estates.
Sexual Division of Labour in the Tea Plantation Industry
The speed of the workers is of great importance to the amount of leaves they are able to pluck in a day. Most of the women workers are recruited as temporary or casual workers and are engaged in the uprooting process. With the change of management there is no change in the operation of the property.
Patriarchy and Oppression
In earlier times, working women were expected to offer sexual favors to British planters or estate managers. Vertical mobility of male workers is evident in the Assam tea industry. Women workers were timid and obliged to the instructions of supervisors and sahibs.
Ownership of Property
Plantation workers have settled into labor ranks ever since they moved to the promising tea estates in this region. Generations of workers live in estate accommodation or settle in nearby settlements, popularly called bastis, where they live in small huts or houses. Tea estates are spread over vast forests and workers live within the estates or in bastis.
Work Hazards faced by Women Tea Plantation Workers
Plantation workers have to work in dangerous conditions, and the tea industry generally lacks safety and health facilities. Thus, the Adivasi laborers working in the plantations are facing an acute problem of malnutrition and anemia. The Factories Act 1948 requires the employer to provide crèches near the factory for the care of infants and young children while nursing mothers can visit them during breaks.
Health and Welfare Provisions for Women Workers in Tea Estates
This rule is hardly followed in the tea estates and the workers mostly do not know their rights. Workers claim that there are no doctors available in hospitals for emergencies. Casual workers on the estates do not have any equipment or even basic medical supplies.
Conditions of Labour
Even in the case of leaf pickers, the men were paid two rupees more compared to their female counterparts (Chatterjee, 2001). The following day, some workers gathered and started attacking the manager, accusing him of sexually assaulting the female workers. This incident brings out the picture of a bigger problem faced by the casual as well as the permanent workers in the tea estates.
Trade Unions and Women Workers
Most plantation workers also do not want to include their children in the estates. Also, most plantation workers do not want to involve their children in working on the estate. Most plantation workers also do not want to include their children in the estates.
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Racial and Cultural Discrimination
It has been found that one of the main causes of unrest between management and workers is the ignorance of management in times of emergency. So, it is evident that the management has played an irresponsible role in ensuring the safety of the workers. However, the growth of unionism on the estates brought about a chain that controls management's behavior towards workers.
Patterns of Industrial Relation in the Tea Estates in Assam
Keeping in mind the discriminatory attitude of management personnel towards tea plantation workers, the next section analyzes the patterns of conflict and the scenario of industrial relations in tea estates in Assam. Given the discriminatory and exploitative attitude of the exploitative nature of the management towards the tea workers, they include issues related to employment conditions such as wages, working hours, leaves, health, safety and disciplinary measures, etc. The growth of the workers' movement, various legislations in favor of workers and the consolidation of union movements have led to this style of management.
Parties of Industrial Relations in the Tea Estates in Assam
- Workers and Trade Unions
- The Management
- The State or the Government
The owners and management personnel of the tea estates constitute the management as a whole. Thus, in the case of the tea industry in Assam, the workers united to fight against the exploitative authoritarian management system. Persons who have a direct or indirect interest in the outcome of the request shall not.
Problems faced by the Management in the Tea Estates in Assam
- Shortage of Quality Labour
- Reduced Productivity of the Industry
- Problem of Absenteeism among the Plantation Workers
- Increased Competition
It results in low employee productivity; especially the permanent employees who are on the company payroll. There is a trend of 'reverse migration' in the tea industry in Assam. It is a crisis situation in the tea estates in Assam as the management faces a severe shortage of manpower.
Industrial Disputes in the Tea Estates in Assam
Causes of Grievances among the Workers
Trade Unions and the Management
Process of Collective Bargaining
The Security Question of the Management Personnel
Welfare Activities labeled under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
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Summary of the Chapters
Findings of the Study
Limitations of the Study
Scope of Further Research
