SolidariTea: Our goal is to increase the Assam tea workers’ wages to living wages to ensure that workers and their families are able to afford a basic standard of living considered decent by society.
Introduction
The proposed living wage is 81% higher than the actual wages in Assam (Oxfam India, 2021). Given their current wages, distant location, and lack of integration into the mainstream economy, the tea workers are forced to live in substandard housing and eat food without adequate nutrition. There is a need for appropriate policy measures to bridge the gap between a living wage and prevailing wages in the tea sector in Assam.
83% of tea is produced in the Northeast region of India, Assam. The region is socially, economically, and, linguistically different from the rest of India.
Purpose & Hypothesis
Living wages, inclusive of wages and benefits, is one of the most important employment conditions, and it play a critical role in improving livelihoods, building resilient communities, and fostering sustainable
Identified problems
Gender Wage Disparity: On average, women in the sector earn only 80% of what men earn. Women's monthly income is significantly lower than that of men.
Contractualization: The tea plantation sector in Assam is witnessing an increase in contractual employment. Only 39% of workers are considered permanent, while the remaining 61% are temporary, raising concerns about social security and mandated provisions under the PLA.
Workers' Household Profile: Almost all workers (99%) live with their families, with very few living alone near the tea estates. Other family members also engage in temporary work. Household sizes vary, with 25.7% having four members and 25.1% having five members on average.
Precarity: Tea plantation workers face wage cuts, poor housing and living conditions, nutritional deficits, job insecurities, and a lack of basic workplace facilities. The high cost of living often leads to debts, especially among temporary workers.
Current Income Deficit and Living Wage: The average family income is reported as INR 4,774 per month, but workers often receive less due to deductions. To achieve a dignified living standard, a living wage of INR 884 per day is proposed, which is significantly higher than actual wages and the national minimum wage.
Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic: Before the pandemic, access to maternity leave and children's education facilities was limited. During the lockdown, only 10% of respondents worked, primarily in fumigation and sewage draining. Women were more severely affected, with longer average periods of unemployment compared to men.
Source: In Defense of Living Wages for Tea Plantation Workers
Research and Analysis
Wages should be fair, meaning they should be high enough to cover a standard family's needs like food, shelter, clothing, healthcare, and children's education, without exceeding the worker's earning capacity in their industry.
A fair wage is determined by a worker's capacity and workload. It's important to note that a "fair wage" is distinct from a "living wage." A living wage, as defined by the Supreme Court of India, should not only cover basic necessities like food, clothing, and shelter but also provide a level of comfort, education for children, healthcare, and protection against significant life challenges, such as old age.
The wage structure can be categorized into three levels: the minimum wage (necessary at a minimum), a slightly higher fair wage, and the highest, a living wage, as outlined in Article 43 of the Constitution of India.
Insights
“Our wage is so less that we can not even satisfy our basic needs. Our problem increases more during the rainy season when there is no work in the tea garden and we migrate in search of work but we hardly get any work on a daily basis.”
44 years old years old female tea garden worker in Biswanath
“The government had started the work of constructing toilets. They deducted INR 200 ($0.25) from the salary too but did not finish the construction. Finally, some of the families constructed a shared toilet by themselves.”
48 years old female tea garden worker in Sivsagar
“Due to financial problems during lockdown, my child could not continue her studies after 10th grade. My daughter started working in the Tea garden since the lockdown.”
58-year-old female tea workers in Sonitpur
Quote Source: In Defense of Living Wages for Tea Plantation Workers
Concept Development
Using mind mapping, I recognized the awareness campaign as a viable solution to tackle this issue in India. Additionally, I identified brands such as PepsiCo and Britannia due to their strong international and local presence, as well as their capability to engage with consumers and promote awareness.
System Intervention in the Value chain of Tea Industry
The tea industry's value chain has 4 stages: growing and plucking, processing and trading, packing and marketing, and consumption. Large domestic and international retailers keep 60% of the profit during packing and marketing, while middlemen keep 33% during processing and trading. Only 7% is left for the bottom-line laborers, perpetuating their poverty.
What we found
India’s tea industry exploits disadvantaged communities and creates power imbalances by taking advantage of the social structure on the ground.
Approach
This project aims to create a solution for this through SolidariTea, which will serve as the trusted tool multiple stakeholders can access to create an equitable future. The project seeks to increase tea workers' wages from below the minimum level to a living wage standard, improve their living conditions, and provide better access to basic necessities. Additionally, it aims to address the power imbalance faced by tea industry workers by increasing their share of the profit distribution.
The project's three pillars of change are designed to facilitate and catalyze action:
Education
Awareness Generation
Getting people involved and talking about the issue.
Allowing us to apply pressure on existing stakeholders.
Generate momentum to take the project forward.
We are collaborating with PepsiCo and Britannia to run our awareness campaigns:
PepsiCo: Our proposal is to establish a partnership with PepsiCo to jointly implement an awareness campaign. Our organization seeks to leverage PepsiCo's extensive reach and significant impact potential by launching a limited edition IPL Pepsi cans. These cans highlight the personal stories of laborers and the difficulties they face in tea plantations. As part of this partnership, for each product sold, a proportion of the proceeds will be donated to our organization, which is dedicated to supporting tea workers in India.
PepsiCo Campaign KPIs
Number of Limited Bottles Sold
Ad Viewers and Reshares
Tweets on the social media platform.
2. Britannia : Our proposal is to establish a partnership with Britannia for the purpose of jointly implementing an awareness campaign. Our organization seeks to leverage Britannia's significant national presence and accessibility to the population by introducing a special edition biscuit packaging. This packaging showcases the living and working conditions of tea workers, which aligns with our mission of promoting fair labor practices and supporting tea workers. As part of this partnership, for each limited edition biscuit sold, Britannia will donate INR 2 to our NGO. It is important to note that the customer will not bear the cost of the donation.
Britannia Campaign KPIs
Number of viewers of Britannia biscuit ads during the campaign period.
How many people commented or retweeted the campaign.
Number of limited edition Biscuits were sold.
Target audience awareness and perception of Britannia's CSR and NGO partnerships.
Donations and revenue generated
Collaborate with Oxfam India to develop an insight engine
Global organization that fights inequality to end poverty and injustice.
Deeper understanding of the local situation.
Ensure that data collection methods are culturally appropriate and respectful.
Engagement
Involvement
Collaborate and influence leaders and decision-makers in private and public entities to take collective action to improve the living conditions of tea workers.
Building high-value collaboration and identifying unique groups' strengths to make progress and improve tea workers’ living conditions by providing them with living wages.
The project goes beyond a single solution to create a three-pronged framework that delves into the identified core areas of impact in any problem of this magnitude and complexity. It facilitates collaborative action among all stakeholders in the tea industry to establish impactful partnerships that incentivize accountability and drive progress toward achieving tangible outcomes at the grassroots level.
Why Awareness Campaign?
The Indian public is generally receptive to awareness campaigns
Growing sense of social responsibility.
Effectively achieved beneficial social, economic, and health results in India.
Public awareness initiatives helps establish a feeling of community. The feeling of community is the key to further triggering their accountability to the community and sustaining people’s behavior change for a long period of time.
Impact
An awareness campaign was utilized in India to unite the population and other businesses to apply pressure on the tea industry to be accountable for its value chain.
The impact of this campaign is expected to be significant, considering the size of India's population and their ability to influence businesses through their collective pressure.
The tea industry in India has been known to exploit disadvantages communities and create a power imbalances by take advantage of the social structure on the ground, with trade unions and retailers reaping the benefits.
By raising awareness of these issues and gaining support from the population and other businesses, the tea industry may be compelled to take action and improve its practices.
UN SDG 8- Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
UN SDG 17- Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.
Scalability
Except for India, Kenya is another world’s top tea-producing nations. Food is a significant concern to tea pickers in both India and Kenya.
Similar living condition compared to India:
Poor working conditions
No security of jobs
Unfair corking contract
Low income
The money tea pickers earn each month in Kenya is less than 50% of their living expenses, while Indian tea pickers only earn about 35% of their living wages.
Barrier to entry
Developing trust for more audience to have an awareness
Government regulation
The right partnerships are integral in securing trust and attention from the audience. Transparent fund using
Political group or party might opposed and reject the campaign.
Resistance from tea plantation
Refusal to change. The structure in place has been in practice for a long time.
Culture barrier
Data collection needs to be culturally respectful and non disruptive to processes
Language barrier
Different language might present and deliver differently.
Slogan needs to be localized.
