Life and Wages in Tea Gardens

Why tea garden workers earn some of the lowest wages in India, how the Plantation Labour Act works, and debates over wages and benefits.

Tea plantations employ lakhs of workers, many of them women who pluck leaves.

Low wages

Tea garden daily wages in Assam and West Bengal have been among the lowest in organised sectors, around 250 rupees a day in recent years, though states have raised them periodically.

Benefits

The Plantation Labour Act, 1951 requires estates to provide housing, medical care, schools and rations. Employers argue these benefits should count as part of wages.

Problems

Poor health and nutrition indicators among workers.
Housing and sanitation often inadequate.
Estate closures leaving workers without incomes.
Limited mobility: workers’ families have lived on estates for generations.

Employers’ view

Many estates say they are loss-making due to low tea prices and rising costs.
Higher wages could close more gardens.

Labour codes

India’s new labour codes subsume the Plantation Labour Act, with debates on how benefits will be protected.

The plucker's day

A woman plucks tea leaves for eight hours, paid by the kilo above a daily target. Her daily wage buys less than a city worker's, though she gets housing and rations.

Thinking plantation workers are well paid because tea sells worldwide

Tea garden wages are among the lowest in organised sectors.

Key takeaways

Tea garden workers, many women, earn low wages.
The Plantation Labour Act, 1951 requires housing and welfare.
Health and housing problems persist.
Estates cite low tea prices; labour codes are changing rules.