Nothing sweet about tea

The tea industry in Assam, the world's largest growing area, has been in crisis for years with accusations of slave labour and trade unions demanding better wages while tea estate owners refused. Tea estates have faced closures due to various reasons, including labour disputes.

Around 30,000 tea workers are employed by Amalgamated Plantations Private Ltd (APPL) - a joint venture with the IFC and Tata Global Beverages (TGB). APPL was set up in 2009 to acquire and manage tea plantations previously owned by TGB, which owns Tetley, the second-largest tea brand in the world. TGB owns just less than half of APPL and the IFC 20 percent.

Four charities said little progress had been made to protect workers at India's second despite the World Bank group's own watchdog raising concerns over low wages and poor housing. The watchdog's found APPL had failed to identify and address complaints of low wages, poor housing and sanitation, and exposure to hazardous pesticides without adequate protection. The investigation also found IFC's investment supported an employee share-purchase programme in which APPL misrepresented the risks of buying stock, resulting in workers incurring debts.

Despite promises to improve conditions, a report this week by four civil society groups - PAJHRA, PAD, Nazdeek and Accountability Counsel - said little has changed.

"Living conditions continue to remain oppressive and unsafe for tea workers, with crumbling housing, squalid sanitation, the absence of toilets and unclean drinking water," said Stephen Ekka, Director of PAJHRA, an Assam-based charity. The IFC and APPL have also failed to provide safety training or ensure basic protection gear for pesticides, he said.