Tea plantations in Bangladesh were started by the British in the mid-19th century, around the same time as the tea plantations in Assam, India. Geographically, the industry is clustered in mainly two eastern districts of Sylhet and Chittagong. Tea is currently the second largest cash-crop in the country and employs more than 4 million workers, 75% of which are women.

Hailing predominantly from Adivasi (indigenous) communities and other marginalized groups, the workers in this labor intensive industry are also one of the lowest paid in Bangladesh. At Taka 170 (USD 1.53) per day, their wages are far below the minimum wages required by Bangladeshi labor laws. Social security protection such as gratuity and pension are absent, maternity benefits provisions and protections against sexual harassment at workplace are also very poorly implemented. Adequate and safe housing continues to be a challenge for workers, who experience landlessness and homelessness in large numbers.

Women workers suffer tremendous amounts of indignity due to hard labor without rest, low pay, lack of maternal healthcare and little to no provision of basic health services. Workers lack clean drinking water and sanitation facilities within the plantations. Grievance redressal mechanisms are nearly non-existent and incidences of sexual harassment at workplace often go unreported.

It is in this context that in 2022 a large-scale scoping study was commissioned by Nazdeek to evaluate accessibility of socio-economic entitlements and labor law. The study also focused on assessing the feasibility of introducing legal empowerment models to tea workers and their representatives. Informed by the results of the study, in 2023 Nazdeek launched its pilot project, in association with its grantee–Society for Environment and Human Development–in the tea gardens of Sylhet and Chittagong. This project will aim to (a) improve the legal capacity of workers, especially women, to claim their entitlements; (b) generate participatory, action-based research on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights; (c) facilitate knowledge-sharing within the South Asian tea workers’ community.

Nazdeek supports local organizations addressing socio-economic challenges through trust-based funding and technical support. Our partners include organizations and experts focusing on building women’s leadership in urban informal settlements, tea plantations, and the textile and garments sector. In over a decade of partnerships, we have facilitated and strengthened more than 8 grassroots organizations, positively impacting at least a million of the most marginalized groups.

At present, Nazdeek’s grantees are implementing the legal empowerment model (LEM) in the states of Delhi, West Bengal, Assam, and Tamil Nadu.

Delhi

Since 2016, Nazdeek has been working in Delhi to build women’s leadership among the most socio-economically marginalized through the legal empowerment model. Our partners support women from Delhi’s informal settlements to build their legal capacity and amplify community leadership. These initiatives have led to the rise of 70 such women as Paralegal Volunteers (PLVs). Utilizing their learnings and skills acquired through immersive capacity building programs, the PLVs have been effective in ensuring access to respectful maternity care, clean drinking water, and sanitation services within their communities.

Our partners and the PLVs have also come together to form 07 women’s Self Help Groups (SHGs) in 04 districts of Delhi. Not only do these SHGs promote financial self reliance, they enable women members to gain greater access to public services and entitlements.

Assam and West Bengal

The tea industry in Assam and West Bengal goes back to 200 years, with Assam being the first region in South Asia to have commercial tea plantations. Most workers in both the states are Adivasis, indigenous groups who were forcibly migrated as cheap labor by the British from Central India to Assam and West Bengal. In Bengal, many of the workers are also of Nepali origin. Labor laws are poorly implemented in both the states, leading to abysmal living and working conditions for workers. Minimum wage and social security, access to maternal healthcare, food, water and sanitation are the major areas of deprivation.

Nazdeek’s projects in Assam and West Bengal focus on enhancing women workers’ access to socio-economic and labor entitlements, and grievance redressal mechanism, by way of community awareness exercises and research. As elsewhere in India, Nazdeek works here with its partners and grantees to achieve its goals.

Tamil Nadu

Our partners are spearheading initiatives to build legal knowledge of women workers and their capacity to seek enforcement of labor protections and social security in the textile and garments sector.

The tea industry in Nepal has grown significantly since its inception in the late 1800s. Today, at least 50% of the tea produced in the country is exported while the remaining is consumed locally. The industry employs more than 100,000 workers, majority of which are women who are predominantly engaged in plucking tea leaves. A significant section of the workers also belongs to the indigenous communities, both local and migrants from neighboring countries.

The challenges and deprivations faced by the tea workers in Nepal are similar to those experienced by other South Asian tea workers. At NPR 500 (USD 3.75) per day, the workers’ wages are far below international minimum wage standards and are woefully inadequate to meet their basic needs. Despite legal provisions requiring periodic wage revisions, they are undertaken infrequently and erratically. Similarly, social protection laws are poorly implemented and cover only the permanent workforce, leaving the majority of the workers without any social security.

Tea plantations in Nepal lack critical healthcare facilities and basic health entitlements such as tea garden hospitals, crèche and toilets. Maternity leaves are poorly implemented across plantations. Similarly, access to housing and land ownership, social security benefits such as gratuity, bonus, and pension are negligible to limited.

The situation is further exacerbated by the monopolization of the Nepal tea industry by a few conglomerates. With the adoption of the private lease-holding model, not only have most gardens been acquired by a select few companies, the frequent sales of gardens has pushed workers into further instability and marginalization.

Nazdeek has conducted two preliminary scoping visits in the Ilam and Jhapa districts of Nepal where a majority of the tea plantations are located. We have developed partnerships with local stakeholders in an attempt to understand the living and working conditions on the plantations. Nazdeek is working towards building solidarity with community and worker-led organizations within Nepal to explore avenues for introducing our Legal Empowerment Model.

Commercial planting of tea in Sri Lanka began in the mid-19th century. Since then, it has grown to become one of the top five tea producing countries in the world. A majority of the workforce in the plantations are women, and Tamil-origin “Malaiyaham” community.

This export-oriented industry continues to reinforce colonial systems of labor exploitation and marginalization. Basic amenities and entitlements such as clean drinking water, adequate housing, social security and minimum wages are inaccessible to workers who are thus further pushed to the fringes. Additionally, workers often do not have access to adequate food and nutrition, maternal healthcare, and education for their children within the plantations. The 2022 crisis and inflation has further worsened the plight of the workers.

In recent years, through judicial and legal interventions, the collective bargaining power of workers and their representation through unions has been limited significantly. This has led to systemic oppression and ostracization of workers, especially women—who form a major section of the workforce.

Nazdeek, in association with local organizations and workers’ representatives has conducted preliminary scoping visits in Hatton, Kandy, and Nuwara Eliya. These visits have allowed us a greater understanding of the living and working conditions, especially those related to socio-economic and labor entitlements. We have also extended solidarity to local partner organizations and supported them in the conceptualization of a charter of demands on 200 years of tea in Sri Lanka. Nazdeek’s Sri Lanka partners are also among the core members of Nazdeek facilitated forums.

To strengthen collective efforts, Nazdeek has also organized and facilitated knowledge exchange visits in Sri Lanka for its South Asia partners. Tea plantations in Sri Lanka have had a longstanding history of worker-led initiatives. Nazdeek looks forward to continuing its engagement and support for these initiatives and facilitating tea workers’ legal empowerment.