THE STORM IN YOUR TEACUP: LABOUR EXPLOITATION IN THE GLOBAL TEA INDUSTRY

Captured in the classic imagery of the jolly swagman waiting for his billy to boil, tea has long been an integral part of Australian life. After water, tea is the most popular beverage in the world. Fast facts: Every second, 70,000 cups are drunk globally1 • Tea comes from the leaves of the a sinensis – and the global demand for tea is rising by 2 plant. as much as five percent a year . • Black, white, green and oolong tea all come Most of the world’s tea is grown in from the same plant. The differences are China, India, Kenya and Sri Lanka, created through various processing techniques as well as in other countries 3 of the leaves and bud7. in Asia and Africa .

• About 3,750,000 tonnes of tea are produced 8 Tea is either each year . grown on large plantations known • Approximately 58 percent as “estates” or by small-scale farmers. of global production is The tea industry is estimated to involve consumed locally about 50 million people worldwide4. But in tea producing countries; conditions for tea workers are not always fair. only 42 percent is exported 9 Workers may not be paid a decent wage, and to non-producing countries . they may work in exploitative conditions where their basic needs are not met5. There have also been reports of child labour in the tea industry6.

DON’T TRADE LIVES FACTSHEET POVERTY AND LABOUR EXPLOITATION

It takes a lot of land to grow tea, so tea estates tend off-season and temporary workers on estates may be to be in remote rural areas. Most tea workers live on dismissed. Due to these factors, many smallholder the estates. They may be descended from families who farmers and tea workers on estates live in poverty. came to the region to pick tea generations ago10. For example, during the late 19th century in India, British Tea pickers are almost always women or children, colonial administrators brought some 750,000 while men are usually employed for tasks like pruning indentured labourers from central India to the tea and applying fertiliser. They work on their feet all day plantations in the northern hills11. While they were with heavy baskets on their backs, resulting in injuries. ostensibly “free labourers”, they were subjected to Respiratory and waterborne diseases are a major risk, terrible conditions, including beatings, torture and since the workers are outside in harsh weather sexual exploitation12. Because they worked in isolated, conditions, often without adequate clothing19. The unfamiliar areas and had little contact with local workers are often exposed to toxic pesticides, villagers, leaving the plantations was not possible13. insecticides and fertiliser20. Others may have moved more recently from neighbouring regions Child labour in search of work on Children often work to help the estates. support their families. What is child labour? Living on remote estates, it is Today’s workers belong often difficult for children Child labour is any kind of work that deprives to the most to get to school if the estates a child of their childhood, their potential disadvantaged and don’t provide education. and their dignity. It is work that exceeds a marginalised groups in Many children have little else minimum number of hours and that is harmful society, who have 21 to a child’s physical and mental development. to do other than work . suffered from a lack of It may include work that is mentally, physically, Much of the work children education and resources socially or morally dangerous and work that do is considered as “helping 14 for several generations . interferes with schooling. out” their parents. As such, This means they have they are not officially very few options other employed and commonly are than to accept the not protected by local conditions offered by the labour laws22. The extreme estate. The estate owners are obliged to provide for poverty faced by many tea workers means that children’s workers’ basic needs such as healthcare, housing and income is vital to support their families. These factors access to education for their children. However, the create the conditions for child labour. As more children market price for tea fluctuates widely, and the average enter the workforce, adult wages are driven down, price is low15. With slim profit margins, often the estate resulting in a vicious cycle of poverty. owners do not invest in infrastructure for workers, leaving their basic needs unmet16. The children may work more than eight hours a day without a break, plucking and carrying tea leaves. The estate workers’ daily wages are typically very low. As the weighing stations are often several kilometres For example, workers in India may be paid as little as from the fields, they must regularly carry loads of up to $1 a day for plucking 20kg of tea17. For smallholder 30kg23. Back problems are common from carrying such farmers, their profits depend on the prices they can heavy loads. As children’s bodies are not fully negotiate with brokers who sell the tea on to developed, this can cause severe long-term damage. processing factories. Often these growers are in a weak Often denied warm, protective clothing and shoes, the bargaining position because they lack access to accurate children may suffer from chest infections, skin diseases, market information18. Tea is a seasonal crop, with the cuts and bruises. The tea fields are vast, and when girls bulk of labour occurring over 6-8 months of the year. are working away from their parents alongside adults, This means that farmers may have no income during the sexual harassment can be a problem24. THE TEA SUPPLY CHAIN

Growers: Smallholder tea farmers may struggle to get a fair price for their products due to their weak bargaining position, while workers on estates are often paid very low wages. Child labour is often present. Workers and children may be exposed to toxic pesticides and herbicides. They may suffer from illness and injury due to inadequate protective clothing Processing: and equipment. This usually occurs at processing plants where the leaves are dried, fermented and cut. Most estates have their own processing plants, so labour exploitation may occur there. Smallholder tea farmers sell their leaves to a processing plant or estate.

Brokers: Brokers facilitate auctions where trade between producers and buyers usually takes place. Brokers communicate information regarding supply and demand, and indirectly determine the price of tea. This may seem like a fair system, but with a small number of companies dominating trade, and possible collusion among brokers to influence the process, smallholder farmers may find it difficult to negotiate their price.

Buyers: They purchase tea for companies who blend and pack it. This is where most value is added to the product, so tea companies are often the players making the most profits.

NOTE: The tea supply chain can differ between Retailers: companies. In some cases, companies have oversight Retailers stock the products that consumers over several stages of the process. For example, the purchase, either under their own brand labels two biggest tea companies, Unilever and Tata Tea, or on behalf of tea companies. own their own tea estates and processing plants from which they can source their tea directly. A BETTER FUTURE IN TEA LEAVES

Kohila, 29, comes from a long line of Sri Lankan tea Growing up, Kohila dreamt of going to university and pickers. “All we knew was tea plucking. My mother, my becoming a nurse. Her two older sisters had already grandmother and those before her plucked tea,” she says. dropped out of school to help their mother pick tea. The women had to pluck 20kg each per day and work for 22 The first tea estate labour force was brought into Sri Lanka days to receive daily pay of 500 rupees (around US$4). If from India by the British to work in the plantations during they missed a daily target it would affect their overall pay. their rule. They had no citizenship and barely any rights. They were exploited for labouring work in the tea estates as well as With so little family income to support them, Kohila’s brother sent as domestic help to big cities for very low pay. Today, sent her and her sisters to work as domestic servants in a many of their descendants are born into life on the plantations. faraway city, in order to make more money, whilst he and their mother continued to work on the tea estate. Kohila and her family, like other plantation labourers, lived in a tiny 9x10 feet room provided by the estate “The work in those houses was also hard,” Kohila management. Sometimes up to three generations live in one remembers. “We had no time to rest.” room that they will never own. In order to keep this shelter, they have to work on the plantation and meet the quotas Eventually, Kohila courageously escaped this domestic set by management. servitude. In fear of her brother’s punishment, she and an old friend ran away.

“We moved to a new estate and built a temporary hut and I had to begin work plucking tea. I was horrified that my life ha[d] fallen back into the same pit and that some day my children might live the same cycle,” says Kohila.

Fortunately for Kohila, World Vision and other local organisations were working in the area to help improve conditions for tea labourers.

“They gave me hope although I was scared to hope. They even visited us at home and seeing the condition of our shed, provided me with roofing. I felt so cared for. Every Kohila has four children now. Her husband works away time there was a meeting with World Vision I would from home and returns monthly to the plantation. She attend,” she says, smiling excitedly. continues to pluck tea and manage the home.

“By the time I had my first child, World Vision had opened “We get paid only 5,000 rupees (around US$40) a a crèche with a train[ed] attendant so that we mothers month no matter how hard we work,” she says. could leave our children in safe hands when we go to work,” she adds. But she manages to save some money each month for emergencies, with support from the World Vision- Previously, mothers were forced to return to work one initiated savings club. This means her family no longer month after childbirth, leaving their children with an has to go into debt if a child falls sick and needs untrained assistant. Now, Kohila is able to get support and medicine. Her children’s education is a big priority advice on good health, nutrition and hygiene practices for for Kohila. herself and her child. “My only dream is to give them a good education so “I share the knowledge I gained with other mothers too in that they will have a much better future. Already they my community and have seen a great improvement in the have big dreams.” weight and nutrition condition of their babies as well.”

WHERE DOES EXPLOITATION OCCUR?

8.

7. 5. 6. 3. 1. 10. 11. 9. 4. 2. 6.

1. Kenya25 4. Tanzania28 7. India31 10. Sri Lanka34 2. Malawi26 5. Uganda29 8. Nepal32 11. Indonesia35 3. Rwanda27 6. Zimbabwe30 9. Brazil33 WHAT IS BEING DONE?

Unlike the cocoa industry, which credible assurance to customers that come in lieu of addressing corporate has acknowledged and developed the product is free from forced, child practices. Businesses must also address policies about labour exploitation in and trafficked labour. systemic changes to the conditions its supply chain, no comprehensive and wages of workers, so that they global governance systems have been Some companies choose to implement can afford to support their families on developed to regulate labour practices their own standards instead of signing their own instead of relying on charity. in the tea industry. up to a scheme. This could be an Guaranteed, independently verified acceptable solution, as long as the labour and wage conditions are the best Since the late 1990s, however, a company is transparent in providing way of creating such change. growing movement of consumers and independent auditing of the standards. civil society organisations have been However, to date none of the major What can I do? committed to improving standards for companies have implemented schemes workers around the world. As more to the same standard as the ethical You can influence the practices of consumers have become aware of the certification schemes. tea companies by purchasing ethical people behind the products they buy, products. As more people purchase there have been increasing demands on Other initiatives have developed to ethically, companies recognise this shift business to provide guarantees that tea support the sustainable development in the market and are encouraged to is produced ethically. As a result, some of the tea industry, such as the Ethical provide more ethical products in order to businesses have begun to clean up their Tea Partnership39. Whilst this paid compete in that market. If your local café product’s supply chain and conditions in membership partnership can provide or retailer doesn’t stock ethical tea, ask some places are improving. guidance, training and monitoring for them to! This creates a real change in the companies, membership of the Ethical lives of tea producers who receive a fairer Independent certification Tea Partnership does not guarantee wage and better working conditions. ethical standards are met. Nor does it schemes mean that companies will be forced to However, there is still much more to be To provide customers with this comply with best practice standards. done to guarantee a better future for guarantee, many companies now source However, this can be a step in the right workers. You can grow this movement their tea from farms and estates that direction as it provides an opportunity to by getting others to reconsider what have been independently verified by help prepare producers for certification. they put in their teapot. Share this fact a third party to be free from labour sheet and start teaching others about Some companies choose to contribute exploitation. Fairtrade36, Rainforest how their cup of tea can help change to charitable works instead of Alliance37 and UTZ Certified38 are workers’ lives around the world. implementing certification. For examples of such certification schemes. example, they may fund charities that Read our Good Tea Guide to find out These schemes comply with the offer educational scholarships to the which teas have been produced without standards set by the International children of tea estate workers. This is using exploitative labour. For more Labour Organization which include a positive action, since it acknowledges information visit: provisions on wages, safety standards and supports tea workers stuck in a and child labour. They provide the most donttradelives.com.au cycle of poverty. But this should not

1. Fairtrade Australia New Zealand “Fairtrade Tea”. Accessed 8. 2008 statistic from Tropical Commodity Coalition (2010) human_rights_abuses_blight_global_tea_sector.html Labor or Forced Labor 2012”. Accessed on 4/2/14. Available on 4/2/14. Available from http://fairtrade.com.au/farmers/ “Tea Barometer”. Accessed on 4/2/14. Available from www. 18. Tropical Commodity Coalition (2010) “Tea Barometer”. from http://www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/2012TVPRA. fairtrade-tea teacoffeecocoa.org/tcc/content/.../TCC_TEA_baro2010_ Accessed on 4/2/14. Available from www.teacoffeecocoa. pdf 6/2/14 2. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations LP.pd org/tcc/content/.../TCC_TEA_baro2010_LP.pd 26. Ibid (FAO) “Smallholder tea producers benefit from harmonized 9. Tropical Commodity Coalition (2010) “Tea Barometer”. 19. Asia Monitor Resource Centre “Women workers in tea 27. Ibid safety standards”. Accessed on 4/2/14. Available at http:// Accessed on 4/2/14. Available from www.teacoffeecocoa. plantations and trade unions”. Accessed on 11/3/14. Available 28. Ibid www.fao.org/in-action/smallholder-tea-producers-benefit- org/tcc/content/.../TCC_TEA_baro2010_LP.pd from http://amrc.org.hk/node/1229 29. Ibid from-harmonize-safety-standards/en/ 10. Asia Monitor Resource Centre “Women workers in tea 20. International Labour Organization (2006) “Tackling 30. The Daily News (3 June 2013) “Child Labour Rampant in 3. Tropical Commodity Coalition (2010) “Tea Barometer”. plantations and trade unions”. Accessed on 11/3/14. Available hazardous child labour in agriculture: Guidance on policy and Tea Plantation”. Accessed on 6/2/14. Available at http:// Accessed on 4/2/14. Available from www.teacoffeecocoa. from http://amrc.org.hk/node/1229 practice”. Accessed 6/2/2014. Available at http://www.ilo. www.dailynews.co.zw/articles/2013/06/03/child-labour- org/tcc/content/.../TCC_TEA_baro2010_LP.pd 11.  Sharma, Jayeeta (2009) “‘Lazy’ Natives, Coolie Labour and org/safework/info/instr/WCMS_110200/lang--en/index.htm rampant-in-tea-plantation 4. Fairtrade Australia New Zealand “Fairtrade Tea”. Accessed the Assam Tea Industry”, Modern Asian Studies, vol. 43, no. 21. UNICEF “Tea garden clubs fill gaps for girls in India”. 31. UNICEF “Tea garden clubs fill gaps for girls in India”. on 4/2/14. Available from http://fairtrade.com.au/farmers/ 6, pp. 1287-1324 Accessed on 4/2/14. Available from http://www.unicef.org/ Accessed on 4/2/14. Available from http://www.unicef.org/ fairtrade-tea 12.Ibid infobycountry/india_52140.html infobycountry/india_52140.html 5. Ibid 13.Ibid 22. International Labour Organization (2006) “Tackling 32. United States Department of Labor, “Tea”. Accessed 6. U.S. Department of Labor “List of Goods Produced by Child 14.Ibid hazardous child labour in agriculture: Guidance on policy and 20/2/14. Available at http://www.dol.gov/ilab/media/ Labor or Forced Labor 2012”. Accessed on 4/2/14. Available 15.Ibid practice”. Accessed 6/2/2014. Available at http://www.ilo. reports/iclp/sweat4/tea.htm from http://www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/2012TVPRA. 16.Fairtrade Australia New Zealand “Fairtrade Tea”. Accessed org/safework/info/instr/WCMS_110200/lang--en/index.htm 33. Ibid pdf 6/2/14 on 4/2/14. Available from http://fairtrade.com.au/farmers/ 23. International Labour Organisation (2006) “Tackling 34. Ibid 7. Washington Post (April 2013) “Tea’s health benefits boost its fairtrade-tea hazardous child labour in agriculture: Guidance on policy and 35. Ibid popularity”. Accessed on 18/2/14. Available at http://www. practice”. Accessed 6/2/2014. Available at http://www.ilo. 17. The Ecologist (13/4/2011) “Environmental damage and 36. www.fairtrade.com.au washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/teas-health- org/safework/info/instr/WCMS_110200/lang--en/index.htm human rights abuses blight global tea sector”. Accessed 37. www.rainforest-alliance.org benefits-boost-its-popularity/2013/04/01/be818cfe-6ef5- 24. Ibid 20/2/14. Available at http://www.theecologist.org/News/ 38. www.utzcertified.org 11e2-aa58-243de81040ba_story.html news_analysis/847970/environmental_damage_and_ 25. U.S. Department of Labor “List of Goods Produced by Child 39. www.ethicalteapartnership.org © 2014 World Vision Australia. World Vision Australia ABN 28 004 778 081 is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organisation dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. Ref #7408