Labour problem hits Tata Tea arm's image abroad

The Nowera Nuddy tea estate of Amalgamated Plantations Pvt Ltd (APPL), a close to 50 per cent subsidiary of Tata Tea, accounts for a little more than 1 per cent of the company's tea production in North India, but is threatening its image as an 'ethical' group.

The IUF, a global trade union, is running an international campaign against the lockout of the estate.

The Nowera Nuddy estate, in Jalpaiguri district of northern Bengal, has been closed since September 14, due to labour unrest.

According to the IUF -- that fights for workers' rights in the agriculture, food and hotel sectors -- the workers' crime was to protest the outrageous mistreatment of a 22-year-old tea worker who was denied maternity leave and eventually collapsed while working in the fields. The incident spurred labour unrest, leading to the lockout.

In an online campaign on the IUF website, one can send a message to Tata Tea/Tetley against the treatment of workers.

A lockout was first declared on August 11, but an agreement was signed with three trade unions, representing some workers on the estate, on re-opening the garden.

However, on September 8, the management issued letters of suspension to eight workers and since September 14, the estate has been under lockout.

Tata Tea has said in a statement: "The welfare of the workforce on the Nowera Nuddy Tea Estate and all other tea estates that supply Tea Tea is of utmost importance to the group. We remain very concerned about the sensitive situation at Nowera Nuddy." Adding: "The Tata Tea group has a strong and proud record of not only ethical but very responsible management of employee relations, which we place at the heart of everything we do."

Sources close to Tata Tea said the workers had beaten the doctor after he refused maternity leave.

Lockouts in Bengal tea gardens are not new. At present, there are around nine gardens closed due to either labour-related problems or viability issues, affecting about 37,000 workers.

Incidentally, APPL is currently in the process of offloading shares to workers. Around 20 per cent of the shares were to be subscribed by workers, managers and management of Tata Tea, of which around half was for workers.

Earlier, unions of the Bengal tea estates were reluctant to pick up shares in APPL, but it was understood that they were participating.

APPL has 20 estates in Assam and four in West Bengal. Apart from Tata Tea, International Finance Corporation has a 20 per cent stake in APPL.

An IUF spokesperson said the union wrote to the Tetley management, which was part of the Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP) programme.

The ETP aims to improve the lives of tea workers and ensure that drinkers can be confident the tea in their cup has been produced in an environmentally and socially sustainable way.

The IUF also got in touch with the Ethical Trading Initiative, which had said the estate's tea was not being used by Tetley. "We are still discussing the matter with them," said the IUF spokesperson. Tata has also corroborated their stance.

"Tetley was a founder member of the ETP, which was set up in 1997 for the UK tea packers. The scope has subsequently been extended to include tea packers serving Europe, North America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Because Tata Tea does not serve these markets, it is not a member of the ETP. None of the tea supplied by the Nowera Nuddy estate is used by an ETP member, so the estate is not currently part of the ETP monitoring programme," said the statement from Tata Tea.