Tribal workers in Bengal’s Tea estates echo miserable tales

JALPAIGURI, DEC 10, 2013 --- More than 85% of the tea plantation workers in West Bengal are tribals, with the majority of the rest being Dalits. Despite facing severe hardships, they have struggled to gain attention from either the estate owners or the state government. Around 3,000 tribals and Dalits are employed at the Patkapara Tea Estate in Jalpaiguri district, with each tea estate employing nearly 3,000 laborers.

“There are around 532 tea gardens in Jalpaiguri, registered under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, where approximately 2.43 lakh laborers are on the regular payroll, while around 1.61 lakh work as casual laborers. Most of them belong to Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes,” said Anirban Banerjee, a PhD scholar in Anthropology from the University of Hyderabad, currently researching plantation workers in Darjeeling district.

These plantation laborers have lived in the gardens for 3-4 generations, yet they continue to face livelihood insecurity. They reside in shelters or staff quarters provided by the management but do not own land for agriculture or any other source of income besides working as plantation laborers, where they endure exploitation.

“More than 80% of the workers are women, but their rights remain largely ignored. Local media reports reveal that about 245 women and 300 girls have gone missing in the last 2-3 years from the tea gardens in Madarihat, Kalchini, Alipurduar, and Nagrakata in Jalpaiguri district,” Banerjee told our bureau.

“This issue is not limited to Birpara. Several unspecified diseases—causing total body collapse and organ malfunctioning among men and women aged 28-45—have been reported in tea gardens near Kalchini, Kumargarm, and Alipurduar,” some workers said.

“We are supposed to receive Rs 130 per day as wages, but in reality, we are only given Rs 66 to 96. How can we manage our daily expenses for food, clothing, healthcare, and our children’s education?” said Ram Kumar Lama, a former Zila Parishad member and local social activist who has worked in tea estates for over two decades. “Our main demand is to abolish the fixed rate of Rs 96 per day and introduce a minimum wage of Rs 250 per day,” he added.

In October, laborers faced issues with overdue salaries. Even after negotiations, the company continued to give them only a 17% bonus instead of the promised 20%. Their staff quarters remain in a dilapidated state, with most repairs carried out using their own hard-earned money.

“We haven’t received rations for the past few weeks. Our payments are irregular, forcing many of us to leave the state. My husband recently moved to Kerala in search of work, so I am working here in his place. There is no fixed payment for overtime. Only if we collect more than 35 kg of tea leaves do we get any extra payment,” said a 32-year-old worker from Patkapara Tea Garden, who wished to remain anonymous. “Most of us don’t own land. As long as we work here, we will continue to be exploited. But we have no choice—there is no escape. We are helpless, and no one listens to us.”

Twelve women and eight men interviewed by our bureau requested anonymity for fear of losing their jobs. These workers shared numerous distressing experiences. If they pluck less than 22 kg of tea leaves in a day, the company deducts Rupee 1 per kg as a penalty.

~ OUR BUREAU | Bruce K. Thangkhal

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