Human Rights Grievance - Handling in the Indian Tea Sector

This case study focuses on the role of transnational non-judicial grievance mechanisms in remedying human rights grievances of workers on tea plantations in India who are linked to transnational supply chains.Business activity: this research spans numerous individual business enterprises in the tea sector. Indian tea production is dispersed across many individual plantations in different parts of the country. Our research focused in particular on plantations located in Tamil Nadu, Darjeeling and Assam. Many plantations are owned by individuals or families, though some large companies own multiple plantations. Transnational connections: Direct ownership and management of plantations is generally carried out by Indian nationals, and large India-based companies such as the Tata Group are involved in both tea production and processing. However significant proportions of tea produced in India are exported to foreign markets, giving rise to extensive links through supply chains to international buyers, who sell the tea on foreign markets.Human rights issues: Many of the human rights issues affecting tea plantation workers are related to labour rights. These include concerns about wage levels, precariousness of employment, health and safety issues, and gender or caste discrimination. Also important are concerns regarding the adequacy of provision of social infrastructure and services on farms. Available grievance mechanisms: When human rights problems arise, a number of grievance mechanisms are formally available to workers. The grievance arrangements most commonly used by workers are located at the local level, encompassing both mechanisms operated by estate management, and those associated with standard administrative and legal processes of labour regulation