CALL FOR PAPERS

Seminar on
Tea Plantation Economy in India: Issues of Value Chain and Decent Work
Organised by
Centre for Labour Studies & Social Protection
School of Social Sciences & Humanities
Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Guwahati Off-Campus

Supported by
International Center for Development and Decent Work (ICDD), Germany

TISS Guwahati, Assam

December 7-8, 2018

Over the last few decades, there have been significant changes in global production system (GPS) at
economic, social and political levels across commodities and sectors, leading to a rapid expansion of
employment in production process. However, much of this employment is often flexible, insecure and
informal, lacking legal and social protection. Owing to economic upgrading within GPS, producers
have access to higher value activities either in terms of production of goods and/or the processes they
are involved in. However, little attention has been paid to the need for social upgrading ensuring
better work conditions for workers linked with GPS.
Traditionally grown in large plantations, in India, tea has high value chain effects. It employs over 1
million permanent workers, making it the largest employer in the formal private sector. Plantation
Labour Act (1951) and other Acts have made provisions of various economic and social entitlements
such as housing, minimum wage, bonus, ration, provident fund, education, and healthcare facilities to
tea workers mandatory.
The existing structure of tea industry is exploitative, suffering from acute decent work deficit. Further,
since 2007, a significant number of tea estates has closed down or remained abandoned. However,
declining exports rather than shrinking production or diminishing prices or sales seem to be a growing
concern. There is stiff competition in domestic and global markets, along with inadequate investment
and production of better quality tea in international markets.
Despite these constraints, paradoxically, the total production, consumption and price of tea in the
national market have been increasing since 2009–10. The reason is the growth of self-employed tea
cultivators known as small tea growers (STGs). These peasant farmers, possessing a maximum of
10.12 ha of land for growing tea leaves, cultivate their own land either using family labour or
employing wage labour. They sell leafs either to Bought Leaf Factory (BLF) or to tea estates through
green leaf agents as they neither have direct access to the market or any say in the fixing of prices.
Processed tea, manufactured either in the estate or local factories, are sent to auction centres from
where large tea marketing companies buy (most are MNCs). Tea prices at the auctions are set at not
very high prices but are sold at much higher prices after packaging the product. While large
plantations suffer from the low price setting, small growers are the worst hit. As BLFs like other
producers get low prices, they buy green leaves from small growers at lower rates. The small growers
too cut down on labour costs to minimise costs of production. This affects the living conditions of
small growers and the labour engaged in these plantations.
Although STGs are fast emerging as an alternative model for tea production, they are under extremely
insecure and vulnerable situations, with no control over green leaf prices, input costs, manufacturing
process, and national and international trade in tea. They do not have systems to safeguard their
interests and to absorb the risks and costs transferred by those who control the value chain. The
insecurities of the STGs are further aggravated by the progressive opening up of cross-border trade
and its policies. However, STGs have an impact on the global production of tea and provides business
opportunities to other formal as well as informal actors in the chain.
Against this backdrop, the following concerns will be addressed in the seminar:
1. Tea in Global Value Chain
2. Crisis in plantation: causes and consequences
3. Emerging smallholders in plantation economy: nature, sustainability and linkages
4. Innovations and new collectives
5. Casual workers and farm labour: new labour questions
6. Gender in plantation
7. Social upgrading through decent work along tea plantation value chain

Publication
The aim of the seminar is to come up with an edited volume with one of the leading publishers.

Important Dates
Deadline for Extended Abstract Submission: 17 November, 2018
Notification for Abstract Selection: 20 November, 2018
Date of Seminar: 7-8 December, 2018

Interested researchers are requested to submit an extended abstract of about 1000 words (including
objective, methodology and clear findings of the paper) to:

Dr. Debdulal Saha (Convener, Seminar) at debdulals@tiss.edu, and

Padmini Sharma (Coordinator, Seminar) at psharma.tiss@gmail.com

Limited fund is available to the selected paper presenters.

For further information: www.tiss.edu