EU Trade Union Institute Finds Violation of India Tea Plantation Worker Rights

In early October, the International Union of Food workers (IUF) published the findings of research done after the deaths of three tea plantation workers in the northeast Indian state of Assam.

According to the Health and Safety Department of the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), the unions fact-finding report entitled In Cold Blood: Death by Poison, Death by Bullets condemns the working conditions and violations of human and labor rights of workers on a tea plantation owned by the Indian conglomerate Tata, which markets the well-known Tetley brand of tea. (WCxKit)

The union carried out its investigation after 25-year-old worker Gopal Tanti dropped dead in May while spraying the crops with pesticide. His death sparked a spontaneous protest by workers, which was immediately put down by the police in a crackdown in which two others workers were shot dead.

Looking at health and safety at work issues, IUF researchers found a complete absence of risk prevention measures.

The workers, whose job is to spray toxic chemicals on plantations, have neither protective masks, gloves, nor clothing. When Tanti fell unconscious, he was wearing only shorts, a t-shirt and rubber sandals. The investigation found that the victim had been spraying pesticides for 8 to 12 hours a day for 75 days straight. According to the young mans father, at no time had the employer supplied him with protective equipment. (WCxKit)

The report also found that when Tanti collapsed, his supervisor prevented his workmates from coming to his aid. It was not until an hour later that a manager came to inquire about the victim’s health, by which time he was already dead.

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