The estate they're in - Assam tea report

How the tea industry traps women in poverty in Assam

Our 2018 report into conditions in tea estates in Assam, India was written in conjunction with a local journalist.

There’s nothing like a nice cup of tea. But the women who pick it on estates in the Indian state of Assam are trapped in poverty with no easy way out. Tea grown and harvested in Assam is a key ingredient in many blends sold by UK tea companies, prized for its unique malty flavour. Yet the women who pick it are not so prized. Wages are pitifully low, living conditions have deteriorated and progress has stagnated.The owners of tea estates have a legal duty to provide ‘in kind’ benefits to their workforce including housing, schools and health facilities under Indian law, as well as a cash wage.

But evidence gathered by researchers working for Traidcraft Exchange found that on estates that are believed to supply UK tea companies:

• A culture of surveillance and control by management goes unchecked

• Wages – agreed across the Assam tea sector – are below Assam and Indian minimum wage levels

• Housing is often leaky and in a state of disrepai

• Sanitation is minimal or non-existent with open defaecation the norm when working

• Local health facilities often lack medicines and staff and better ones are far away

• Food rations are insufficient and of poor quality