SAP 2.54/WP.101
SECTORAL ACTIVITIES PROGRAMME
Working Paper
Productivity Improvement and Labour
Relations in the Tea Industry in
South AsiaBy B. Sivaram
Working papers are preliminary documents intended to
stimulate discussion and critical commentsInternational Labour Office Geneva
Contents:
This study examines recent experience in productivity improvement schemes in South Asia tea plantations, with particular attention to labour productivity. It was prepared for the ILO by Mr. B. Sivaram, formerly associated with the United Planters' Association of Southern India (UPASI) and currently with the Tea Research Institute in Sri Lanka. The study is part of the ILO programme of activities for plantation workers carried out in the Industrial Activities Branch of the Sectoral Activities Department. The study was commissioned in response to conclusions adopted at the Tenth Session of the ILO Tripartite Committee on Work on Plantations, held in Geneva in September 1994. The Committee adopted a set of conclusions on productivity and labour relations which, inter alia, called on the ILO to collect and disseminate information on successful practices of productivity promotion on plantations through labour relations machinery.
In this study, the author recalls the importance of tea production in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka, in terms of employment and foreign exchange earnings. Detailed information is provided on the cost account of tea production. Tea is a labour-intensive industry. The harvesting of tea leaves is a year-round activity, which is carried out manually, predominantly by women workers. Some mechanization is being tested although so far the results cannot compare quality-wise with hand plucking. The productivity of the harvesters is therefore a prime consideration. The author discusses two main means of raising the productivity of tea harvesters. The first concerns the organization of harvesting, with decentralized teams of harvesters working according to a scientifically determined plucking schedule monitored through growing computerization. The second rests on the elaboration of a wage incentive package composed of a base rate plus incentives for extra output. Four different classes of fields, based on average yield of green leaf per month are defined. The system, first elaborated in southern India following extensive discussions with the trade unions, is now widely practised. Joint employer-worker implementation committees were appointed to oversee the introduction of the scheme and wage scales are regularly reviewed.
The author also discusses social and health factors in relation to labour productivity. In particular, he argues in favour of greater emphasis on preventive health care. Water and sanitation are two areas singled out. Proper facilities are shown to have a direct impact on overall morbidity. The author discusses the role of social services, particularly in the provision of childcare facilities, which are seen as essential for the largely female workforce on tea plantations.
The two most important factors in the successful introduction of productivity schemes on tea plantations are the concern of management for the state of the workforce and regular dialogue and negotiations with the trade unions.
By documenting these experiences, it is hoped that this study by B. Sivaram will contribute to enriching the debate on productivity and labour relations on plantations.
B. Klerck Nilssen,
Officer-in-charge,
Industrial Activities Branch
