Collective bargaining in the Indian tea industry involves unions representing over 2 million tea plantation workers negotiating with tea companies on issues like wages, benefits, and working conditions. The main union bodies and tea companies engage in bargaining at both the individual plantation level and through larger organizations like the Indian Tea Association. While some larger companies provide benefits like free housing directly, bargaining topics are constrained by the Plantation Labor Act which excludes wage negotiation and reserves some issues for state-level determination. Observers argue the government could facilitate more effective industry-wide bargaining through measures like compulsory union recognition and a statutory framework.

1. Collective Bargaing in Tea Companies Sharath Ghosh SayanMukharjee RakeshGakare SathyaPrakkash VJ

2. Agenda A brief on Collective Bargaining A brief of Indian Tea Industry Ducans Industries Goodricke Group Ltd Collective bargaining among Union and Tea Companies Objectives Comparison with the west

3. A brief on Collective Bargaining PLA Act. (1951)

4. A brief of Indian Tea Industry 172 years old India accounts for 31% of global production 1692 registered manufacturers, 2200 tea exporters, 5548 registered buyers 9 tea auction centers (incl. 4 online exchanges) India accounts for around 12-13% of world tea exports Over 13,000 gardens, and a total workforce of over two million people Accounts for 0.8% of Indian exports with a turnover of 18000 crore

5. A brief of Indian Tea Industry

6. A brief of Indian Tea Industry

7. Ducans Industries Part of the Goenkafamily Tea gardens encompass over 7500 hectares of land spread over the Dooars, Terai and Darjeeling regions of North Bengal Implemented Quality Systems in line with ISO 9002 standards One of the finest clonal gardens in the world.

8. Goodricke Group Ltd Established tea gardens progressively in 1977 17 existing tea gardens of Goodricke Group Ltd. Covers 12 estates

9. Goodricke Group Ltd

12. Darjeeling District Chia Kaman Majdoor Union (CPI)Indian Tea Association

14. Ration

16. PLA Act

17. Objectives The Government’s policy so far has been to encourage collective bargaining in a voluntary way Whatever collective bargaining emerged initially has been mainly at the plantation level The varying sizes of the plantation and the consequent dissimilarities in productiveness and technologies which do not permit uniform employment conditions The absence of homogenous labor market owing to lack of uniform skills and pattern of training which does not promote free mobility of labor so that uniform employment conditions could be evolved for the industry as a whole The plantation union leadership which at present enjoys enormous powers and faces prospects of political climb is reluctant to get integrated into an industry wise union where its powers are likely to be restricted

18. Objectives The Indian Government needs to adopt comprehensive statutory measures with regards to collective bargaining For an effective Collective Bargaining in India the following measures are taken: Recognition of trade union has to be determined through verification of fee membership method. The union having more membership should be recognized as the effective bargaining agent. The State should enact suitable legislation providing for compulsory recognition of trade union by employers. State has to play a progressive role in removing the pitfalls which stand in the way of mutual, amicable and voluntary settlement of labor disputes.

19. Thank You