World Bank probes Tata tea project over worker abuse in India

February 14, 2014 - The World Bank said on Thursday it was investigating claims of labour and human rights abuses at an Indian tea plantation project that it jointly finances with tea giant Tata Global Beverages in the north-eastern state of Assam. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) - a member of the World Bank Group - said its accountability office decided to probe the project, run by Amalgamated Plantations Private Limited (APPL), after charities complained that tea pickers were being exploited. "The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) has announced an investigation into whether IFC followed its policies and procedures in the case of APPL," said an IFC statement emailed to the Thomson Reuters Foundation in response to questions. "IFC takes all concerns in relation to its investments/projects that are expressed by stakeholders and affected communities seriously."

Both Tata Global Beverages and APPL have denied any violation of workers’ rights. APPL said it would extend full cooperation to the CAO probe. "We at APPL look after our workers and are compliant with the law," Kaushik Biswas, APPL's company secretary, said in an emailed statement. "Wages are paid as per industry agreements. Cash wage plus benefits total up to 189 rupees ($3) per man day. Working hours are as specified in the Plantations Labour Act, 1951," he said. APPL was set up in 2009 to acquire and manage tea plantations previously owned by Tata Global Beverages – which owns Tetley, the second largest tea brand in the world. The IFC's $7.8 million involvement in the $87 million "Tata Tea" project was aimed at promoting the idea of shareholder workers and helping to create more than 30,000 permanent jobs. Tata Global Beverages took a 41 percent stake in APPL and the IFC took 20 percent, with the remainder held by workers and smaller firms.

Three non-governmental organisations complained to the CAO in February last year about alleged worker violations in three of APPL's 24 plantations. The complaint cited long working hours, inadequate compensation and poor health conditions, including the unsafe use of pesticides. It said there is restricted freedom of association among workers and barriers to voicing grievances. Productivity targets are so difficult to meet, it said, that tea pickers engage other family members, including children, to receive a single wage. The charities also questioned the share-buying program, saying workers were being pressured into buying shares, often without proper information about the investment risks. "We invite the investigation team to see with their own eyes that nothing has changed on the plantations since the World Bank got involved," said Stephen Ekka, director of PAJHRA, one of the charities which complained to the CAO. (Source: Reuter)