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LABOUR
WELFARE COSTS AND THE QUESTION OF SUSTAINABILITY
Declining
prices in the international and domestic markets and spiralling
input costs have hurled the Indian tea industry into an
unprecedented crisis. Dwindling margins have forced the
industry to desperately hunt for areas of strict cost control
since it is being increasingly felt that competitiveness
of Indian tea in the domestic as well as global markets,
to a large extent, depends on the corrective measures taken
to trim expenses on inputs.
The industry feels that while many of the cost components
are uncontrollable in the current administered price regime
or because of Central and state imposts, there are certain
heads of production expenses that need to be addressed immediately
for cost control. One such area of prime concern is labour
cost which constitutes as much as 50-55 per cent of production
expences.
The 'Accenture Study', commissioned by the Tea Board and
Ministry of Commerce, suggests the need for an immediate
review of the provisions of the Plantation Labour Act in
respect of its welfare provisions and their impact on costs.
SOCIAL OBLIGATIONS OF
THE TEA INDUSTRY
• CONCESSIONAL FOODGRAIN
Subsidised ration
is mandatorily provided to the workers at the following
scale:
Worker : 3.26 kg of rice/wheat per week
Adult dependent : 2.44 kg of rice/wheat per week (up to
18 years)
Child dependent : 1.22 kg of rice/wheat per week.
The ration is provided to the workers at 0.44 paise-0.54
paise per kg, regardless of the market price. The cost per
worker per day to the industry works out to about Rs 13.
• MEDICAL
FACILITIES
Under the PL Act, each plantation
is required to provide free medical facilities to a worker
and his/her family - the worker,
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his/her
spouse, dependent children and in case of a male worker,
dependent parents residing with him - as defined in the
Act.
According to the PL rules, each plantation must have a garden
hospital with a medical officer and adequate para-medical
staff. Moreover, there is no limit prescribed by the Act
on the entitlement of free medical services.
• MATERNITY BENEFIT
All tea plantations are covered
under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961. In addition to the
mandatory maternity leave with wages as per the provisions
of the Act, the female workers are provided with free medical
facilities during the pre- and post-natal period.
• CRECHE FACILITIES
Each plantation with 50-or-more
women workers is required, under the PL Act, to set up crèches
for children below two years at suitable sites near the
work place. In addition, every estate is required to have
a 'Central Crèche' for children between 2-6 years. The crèches
are provided as per the specifications laid down by the
State Government. They must have women attendants at the
scale of one for every 20 children and provide free diet
consisting of .25 litres of milk for each child below the
age of two years and wholesome food for all crèche children.
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