Oxfam-Study: poverty pay for Assam tea

The human rights organisation Oxfam has researched the conditions under which conventional black tea is produced in Assam, India. The result: poverty, extremely low wages, toxic pesticides – and certifications that do not change anything.

The East Indian state of Assam is the largest tea-producing region in India. Many tea brands purchase tea here, and supply large retailers such as Aldi North and South, Costco, Edeka, Lidl, Rewe, Sainbury’s, Tesco, Whole Foods and many more with it. Prices for tea vary according to the country and retailer in which it is sold, but they all have one thing in common: the share the workers in Assam receive is minimal.

Taking Germany for example, the Oxfam research report found that more than 85 percent of the price consumers pay for tea remains with tea suppliers and retailers. Six percent goes to the distributors, another six percent to plantation owners. From three Euro consumer price, the workers receive only around 4 Cent. In the United States, the share of the end consumer price going to tea suppliers and retailers is even higher with 94% – here only 1 percent goes to tea workers on plantations. In the UK, workers receive only three pence from black tea sold for 74 pence. This is not nearly enough to sustain decent living conditions, as was shown in interviews with workers conducted by researchers of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences on behalf of Oxfam.

Half of the workers ‘below poverty line’ – quarter of the workers starving

According to the research, the workers are paid between INR 137 and INR 170 (between 1.73 and 2.14 Euros) a day. “This is well below the minimum wage level”, the minimum amount that would sustain a decent standard of living, writes Oxfam. 50% of the workers questioned falls below the poverty line in India, which makes them eligible to receive food rations from the government. “This is official acknowledgement that tea workers do not earn enough to survive on”. At the same time, they are tied to the plantation, as the plantation owners are legally responsible for access to education and health services as well as the provision of housing. Those who are dismissed lose their homes and access to health care and education for their children.

The working conditions described in the interviews are catastrophic. Oxfam describes that “factory workers reported jaundice, eye irritation, asthma, coughs and allergic reactions to dust and fumes”. No toilets are available on the field, and “researchers discovered severe water problems in every tea estate visited”. The workers often have to drink contaminated water, resulting in water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea and typhoid. In the event of accidents at work or illnesses leading to job loss, no social security is available to the workers.

Useless certification

According to Oxfam, “many supermarkets relay on certification to convey to consumers their commitment to social and environmental standards”, such as the Rainforest Alliance which certifies 130 tea estates in Assam. However, the Oxfam research showed that this approach is not effective. Many of the human rights violations reported also occurred on certified plantations, reports Oxfam. The organisation is therefore calling on all stakeholders to change their business practices and promote compliance with labour and human rights in their supply chains. In particular, concrete measures are needed to implement living wages, gender equality and transparency in the supply chain.

Oxfam research

The research on the “Human Cost of Assam Tea” is only one of several studies by Oxfam on working conditions in food supply chains. Next to Assam, there is also research on poverty wages and indecent working and living conditions on fruit farms in North East Brazil, sweet potato farmers in the United States and workers on farms and plantations in several Latin American countries.

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