Highlights: Permanent tea worker starves to death; continuing protests over wages and working conditions; biochar can reduce tea climate impact; more women tea estate managers in Sri Lanka and Assam.

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THIRST News

Webinar: How could worker-driven social responsibility benefit the tea sector?

15:00 GMT Wednesday 10th April

Director of Partnerships at the Worker-driven Social Responsibility Network, Rafaela Rodriguez will join, Dr Alysha Shivji, (Research Professor at the Egade Business School, THIRST Associate Consultant and co-author of Human Rights in the Tea Sector – The Big Picture, Part 1) to offer insights on how principles of the Worker-driven Social Responsibility model could potentially be applied to the tea industry. Harvard Business Review described the Fair Food Program’s Worker-driven Social Responsibility (WSR) model as “One of the most important social impact stories of the past century,” and  the US Department of Labor said it was “something every grower and food retailer should be part of.”  Tickets are flying off the shelf for this thought-provoking webinar but there are still some left if you would like to join the discussion on this hot topic.

Book your free webinar tickets

THIRST’s Human Rights Impact Assessment – Root cause analysis of human rights breaches

THIRST has now published the second report in its human rights impact assessment of the global tea sector. The ‘Analysis of the root causes of human rights breaches’ is based on the perspectives of almost two hundred tea industry stakeholders across many countries – from tea pluckers to CEOs of tea companies, from shop stewards to supermarkets. It is the second report in our series Human Rights in the Tea Sector – The Big Picture. The report reveals some important new perspectives on known root causes such as the global oversupply suppressing prices. It also offers brand new insights on how the multiple root causes interlink, the various value chain levels at which they occur, and what else could be driving and sustaining low incomes and poor working conditions for many of the world’s tea workers and farmers.  These findings will form the basis for our in-person multi-stakeholder roundtables in 2024, at which industry stakeholders and civil society will work together to make practical plans for a fairer, more sustainable and thriving tea industry.

Latest tea sector HRIA update

New on the Knowledge Hub

There are several new resources on the Knowledge Hub, including the briefing by THIRST,  Women Working Worldwide and T-Evolve on the risk factors for gender-based violence across the tea sector. The IISD’s Global Market Reports for Tea both for 2020 and 2024 are now available on the Knowledge Hub, and there are also new resources on new business models for smallholder tea certification and on efforts to develop a tea futures market through tea swaps.

Visit the Knowledge Hub

April Tea News Summary

Although the past few months have seen the continuation of protests, problems and climate change impacts in tea estates and farms across the tea growing world, for the first time the number of items in our good news section almost balances the rest. Tragically, the worst news items from a human rights perspective were the death from starvation of a permanent tea worker in India, as a result of both corporate and governmental lapses; and the death of the fifteen year-old daughter of temporary tea workers in Bangladesh, after falling from the window of the house where she was a domestic worker. Other news included protests in Assam after a factory manager physically assaulted a tea worker, protests by tea workers in Kenya over non-payment of wages for 14 months, a strike by tea workers in Bangladesh over festival allowance cuts, alongside a report on how climate change has affected tea plantations and tea workers in Bengal and a possible election boycott in the Niligiris over tea auction prices.  Prices are a measure of the value of tea, and PG Tips CEO, Nathalie Roos has stated that “A lot of value has been destroyed in tea,” and lays out her strategy to counter this. More positive news this month includes the appointment of more women in managerial positions in tea estates in Sri Lanka and India; a Chinese bid to buy Nepalese tea which could stop the ongoing India-Nepal wrangles over counterfeit Darjeeling tea;  the discovery that biochar can reduce tea productions’ climate footprint; the training of local women as hydrologists to tackle water shortages and Lipton’s public commitment to free, prior and informed consent to the use of ancestral land.

April tea news in detail

Protests and problems

Tea worker dies of starvation in West Bengal

Dhani Oraon, 58, died of starvation on February 2, in North Bengal, India. He was a permanent tea worker at the Madhu Tea Estate, which had shut down and re-opened after seven years. In the interim, employees were given no benefits or compensation. Oraon and his wife ran out of rations. An additional problem was a supposed mismatch between two government identities, which denied him state rations. A fact-finding team revealed these details.(February 7, Down to Earth)

Child domestic worker – daughter of temporary tea workers falls to death

In Febraury in Bangladesh, a 15 year old girl fell to her death from the eighth floor appartment where she had been employed as a domestic worker. As temporary workers, her parents  are not entitled to ration, provident fund and other facilities reserved for permanent workers, hence them resorting to sending their children out to work in what has proved to be dangerous conditions. (March 5, BDNews24)

Tea worker protests in India and Kenya

Tea workers at the Salonah Tea Estate in the Kaliabor area of Assam, one of India’s main tea-growing states, went on a massive protest after a mill house manager allegedly assaulted a tea worker. The workers claimed that the physical assault on their colleague by the mill-house manager was uncalled for. The police have arrested the director of the mill house, which was seen as a surprise move by many. The tea workers are adamant that they want justice for their colleague. (March 21, The Sentinel)

Tea farmers from the areas of Nyamira, Bomet, Kisii and Kericho, in Kenya, staged demonstrations and riots on March 29, and issued a one-week ultimatum on the clearance of dues. They have been owed salaries for over 14 months by tea factory managements. The arrears amount to 100 million Kenyan shillings (about US $770,000). The workers claimed that apart from false promises, managements also issued them fake cheques which were not accepted by commercial banks. The workers have vowed to continue with their protests until they get paid what is due to them. (March 30, www.kenyan.co.ke)

The Nilgiris Small Tea Growers Welfare Association in Southern India has threatened to boycott the upcoming general elections in India, scheduled from April 19 to June 1 this year, if their demands for better prices at auctions are not met. The Association has got some political support on this from smaller parties and is canvassing the Ooty area to get popular support as well. Currently, small tea growers get between Rs 50 to Rs 80 per kilogram of tea powder (0.48 US cents to 0.96 US cents). They want a minimum guarantee of Rs 200 per kilogram (US$ 2.40). In addition, the association is also pushing for the inclusion of the Badaga community – which most of the tea growers belong to – into the Constitutional list of Scheduled Tribes. The association has stated that the verbal claims of support from political parties of all hues are not acceptable. (March 31, The New Indian Express)

On March 22, tea workers in the Kuchai tea garden in the Moulvibazar area of Bangladesh stopped work for four hours to protest a reduction in their festival allowance for the upcoming Dol Purnima celebrations. According to an agreement between the tea workers union and organization of tea growers, workers are due an allowance the equivalent of 52 days’ pay, based on a daily wage of Tka 170 (US$1.55 per day, US$ 80 for 52 days). A spokesperson of the MNC Duncan Brothers, which owns 15 tea gardens in the area, said the tea workers did not accept a 50 per cent cut that was proposed. A bad financial situation was blamed for the proposed cut. Workers have said if they are not paid the full agreed amount, strikes will resume. (March 22, New Age Bangladesh)

Climate change and renewal efforts

Is Palm oil the answer for Assam’s tea woes?

The India country head of IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative, has suggested that Assam tea growers could consider palm oil diversification to generate business. Although Assam is India’s largest tea-growing state, the tea industry’s woes are many, from rising costs and stagnant demand to climate change. Jagjeet Singh Kandal, who has also worked with the Tata Group, which has large investments in tea, suggested this in an interview to an Indian news agency. Diversification into the famously hot bhoot jholakia or ghost chilli, pig farming and mushrooms has helped tea gardens, he said. Tea growers could take advantage of the Government of India Palm Oil Mission. (March 21, ANI news agency)

Climate change adversely affecting tea estates in Bengal

This short report by Al-Jazeera looks at how climate change, inter-governmental disputes and low wages for workers are badly affecting India’s premier tea-growing estates in the Darjeeling area of the state of West Bengal in India. Bad monsoons and pest attacks have led to lower yields which have led to job losses. (March 30, Al-Jazeera)

And the good news is….

More women in supervisory and managerial positions in tea estates

The Talawakelle tea estate has introduced Sri Lanka’s 1st female field supervisors in the tea plantations by training women supervisors in all aspects of tea production and processing… (March 10, Groundviews. See also The Centre) and Chota Tingrai Tea Estate in in Assam, India, director of Jalannagar Development Private Limited, Avantika Jalan, has appointed four women in managerial or executive posts, saying “Something that intrigued me was that the tea estates, which bank on women for plucking & other productive work, did not have a single woman in managerial roles. We decided to open up the management system to deserving local women.” (March 8, The Hindu)

ILO reaches agreement on living wages

The ILO has reached an agreement on the issue of the living wage… decent wages are central to economic & social development and to advance social justice [&] play an essential role in reducing poverty & inequality & ensuring a decent & dignified life. (Mar 15, ILO)

Kenya pilot demonstrates effectiveness of biochar to reduce tea’s climate footprint

Compact Syngas Solutions, in Deeside, has developed an advanced gasification process that uses waste products to generate a syngas – a mix of hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide and monoxide. The syngas can be burned as a greener fuel, saving up to 2.8kg of carbon dioxide per litre of diesel, and up to 1.98 tonnes of carbon dioxide per tonne of fuelwood. Carbonized biomass – for biochar – produced in the process can be applied to farmland to improve soil fertility and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as part of a capture and storage scheme, reducing the climate footprint of tea or generating income from emissions trading. Once the project has proved its success in Kenya, it will expand to Malawi, Uganda and South Africa, before spreading across the world. (March 18, The Leader)

Women and youth to be trained as “barefoot hydrologists”

The Community Led Action Plan (CLAP) project for Climate Resilient Water Security seeks to champion efficient water resource usage, system resilience in the face of climate variations, and social equity… The key uniqueness of the project is the idea to build and nurture a cadre of ‘barefoot hydrogeologists’ from the women and youth of local communities through training and initial hand-holding to support the planning, implementation and sustainability of community-led Water Security Plans. (March 22, East Mojo)

Scholarships announced for the children of Sri Lankan tea workers

The Ceylon Estate Workers Education Trust has invited the children of Sri Lanka’s tea workers to apply for scholarships at school and university level, as well as for vocational training at government technical colleges. (March 25, Daily News)

Chinese buyers of Nepal tea could disrupt Nepal-India trade spat

Chinese tea buyers have disrupted a heated trade spat between Nepal and India, over counterfeit Darjeeling tea being sold to consumers. Indian tea estates are under severe pressure due to an onslaught of cheaper Nepalese tea that traders have been happy to repackage as Darjeeling, the “champagne” of premium teas grown just over the Nepal-India border. India has historically accounted for nearly all of Nepal’s tea exports, meaning Darjeeling tea makers have found it hard to compete with the cheaper leaves flooding the market. Now, with China emerging as a bigger buyer of Kathmandu’s wares, industry insiders say the pressure on India should go down. (March 31, Financial Times)

PG Tips to invest in value

Liptons Tea & Infusions’ new CEO, Nathalie Roos is “unhappy about the direction PG Tips was taking before being bought by Lipton Teas & Infusions, as part of its £3.8bn purchase of Unilever’s Ekaterra tea business in 2022. For her, this is inextricably linked to the 5.7% volume decline in everyday tea volumes [Kantar 52 w/e 5 May 2023]. “When you have no leader in the category, you let the market go,” she stresses. “A lot of value has been destroyed in tea. Before we started, the average tea[bag] price was 2p, which is ridiculous. With this money, how can we bring margin to the retailers? How can we invest and make the category grow?” Investment was certainly necessary to boost former market leader PG Tips, which lost £2.8m last year. It slid down to become the fourth-biggest tea brand behind Tetley, nearly £60m behind current number one Yorkshire Tea [NIQ 52 w/e 9 September 2023]. (March 22, The Grocer)

Kipsigis community welcomes Lipton’s commitment to FPIC

In a letter published on Twitter/X and LinkedIn, the Kipsigis Community Clans Organisation has welcomed the public commitment by Lipton’s Tea & Infusions to “adhere to the principles of free, prior and informed consent in all negotiations concerning the property and land of indigenous communities. The commitment is made in the company’s Responsible Sourcing Policy. (March 11, shared on Twitter/X)