Unfolding Crisis in Assam's Tea Plantations: Employment and Occupational Mobility

Description

As the Indian economy integrates into global circuits of production, exchange and accumulation, the burdens of adjustment are shared unequally by different sectors, classes and regions. This study unravels the livelihood strategies and living conditions of labour in the tea gardens of Assam. The tea sector has been undergoing a crisis since the 1990s, with stagnant production, decline in exports, and closures of many tea gardens leading to large-scale retrenchments in the labour force. Based on a detailed analysis of secondary data and primary field research, the study examines the extent, types and implications of inter-generational occupational mobility (or immobility) among tea garden labourers in Assam. In the process, it reflects on how even a sector that had brought capital and labour from outside and contributed significantly to the country’s export earnings failed to create dynamic growth linkages within the local economy. The experience of the labour force in the Assam tea sector, the authors argue, is important for making sense not only of the development dynamics of the region, but of the contradictory ways in which forces of globalisation and neo-liberal reforms have been reshaping the worlds of labourers in the margins. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of labour studies, development studies, management studies, and studies of north-east India, as well as to policy-makers and those in the tea industry. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of Tables List of Figures Acknowledgements 1. Introduction The Tea Industry in India Labour and Globalisation Labour in Globalising India Situating Labour in the Context of the Present Crisis Database and Methodology 2. The Tea Sector in Assam in a Comparative Perspective The Plantation Sector and World Capitalism Conceptualising Plantation Economy History of Tea Plantations in India Growth of Tea Production in India Tea in India: A Global Perspective Growth of Tea Sector in States of India Growth Performance of Tea in Assam: A District-level Analysis Size-Class-wise Distribution of Tea Gardens Size-Productivity Relationship in Tea Gardens Farm-size-wise Growth of Productivity Age Distribution of Tea Bushes The Crisis in the Tea Industry Conclusion 3. Employment Characteristics of Tea Labour Trends in Labour-use and Employment Spatio-Temporal Variations in Labour Absorption Growth in Labour Productivity Employment Elasticity in the Tea Sector Changing Composition of the Tea Labour Force Supply of Labour: Historical Antecedents and Changing Realities Collective Bargaining and Wage Determination Conclusion 4. Occupational Mobility among Tea Garden Labourers Extent and Pattern of Intergenerational Occupational Mobility The Occupational Distribution of Workers Occupational Distribution of Fathers Occupational Distribution of Grandfathers Intergenerational Occupational Mobility Intergenerational Occupational Mobility: Current Workers Intergenerational Occupational Mobility: Earlier Generations Determinants of Occupational Diversification and Mobility Conclusion 5. Causes and Implications of Occupational Mobility Perceptions on Working Conditions and Occupational Change Factors Facilitating and Constraining Occupational Diversification Access to Education The Nature of the Local Economy The Ethnic Dimension Social Security Conditions of Living Demographic Characteristics of Labour Households Access to Basic Amenities Conclusion 6. Conclusions Appendix Ia: The Plantations Labour Act, 1951 Appendix Ib: The Plantations Labour (Amendment) Act, 2010 Appendix II Bibliography About the Authors Index