Scope of Collective Bargaining Process in the Small Tea Garden – A Study with Special Reference to Jalpaiguri District of West Bengal

Abstract

The Tea Board of India (TBI) has defined a Small Tea Growers (STGs) as an entity having tea plantation areas of up to 10.12 hectares (or 25 acres) without any processing facility since the early 1990s. The mode of production in tea plantations has undergone a major structural shift from a centralized estate sector system to the emerging small tea growers (STG) bought leaf factory (BLF) system, which broadly represents a flexible and decentralized production system. The labour relations in tea gardens are well defined in the organized sector and covered under the Plantation Labour Act 1951. However, the small tea growers (STG) and Bought-Leaf Factories (BLF) specializing solely in tea manufacturing do not have the distinct industrial identity categorized under the unorganized sector in the tea plantation industry. STGs are no longer a small or marginalized group, as they produce more than half of India's green-leaf output while depriving organized-sector workers of the benefits they should get. The moment has come for small tea garden owners to think about their employees' occupational safety, health, and working circumstances. Given the substantial changes in tea plantation methods, the authors sought to determine the scope of collective bargaining for workers in tiny tea gardens in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri region.