Re: [PMARC] Today is International Tea Day.

On Tue, Dec 15, 2009 at 7:10 PM, tiwari <tiwari@cec-india.org> wrote:

Dear all,

Today is International Tea Day.

Since 2004, every year tea workers, small tea growers, consumers and other
stakeholders all over the world, observe the International Tea day as a day
of affirmation and solidarity, This year (2009) too, ITD will be celebrated
in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and other tea producing countries by way of
public events and meetings of tea workers focussing on the theme.

In India, the theme of the 5th International Tea Day is 'Housing and Land
Rights in Tea Plantations'. Tea trade unions are organizing regional
meetings in Alipurdwar in the Dooars region of West Bengal; Vandiperiyar in
the idukki region of Kerala and Valparai in the Annamalai hills of Tamilnadu
are observing the ITD 2009, which will culminate in a national meeting and
rally in Valparai, Tamil Nadu on December 20, 2009.

The theme of this year's ITD draws from the fact that Dalit and Adivasi
workers who were brought to tea plantations as indentured labour, and who
have been living in these plantations for generations and contributed to its
economy have been denied rights over their homestead land. Organisation of
production in tea plantations is such that 'housing' becomes an instrument
of control rather than entitlement. Brought to the plantations as indentured
labourers during the colonial period, mostly belonging to scheduled tribes
and scheduled castes, tea workers have been kept in a state of virtual
bondage for decades by the tea planters. Tea gardens located in remote areas
give no opportunity to workers to access any other livelihood options.
Housing rights give identity as they ensure citizenship rights thus
guaranteeing civil and political participation to people. Hence, this tea
day will reaffirm the importance of housing and land rights for multitude of
tea workers. Neither the Plantation Labour Act of 1951 or the Tea Act of
1953 grants the housing and land rights to about 1.2 million tea workers in
India.

Further, the ITD 2009 will focus on how women are the backbone of the tea
industry and recognise how they contribute to the economy by lending their
physical labour to various arduous jobs including plucking tea leaves. Women
who are the majority workers in the tea industry deserve more
representation, space in leadership and negotiations and basic rights such
as equal wage, housing, health and education.

The small tea growers, under the auspices of Confederation of Indian Small
Tea Growers in India (CISTA) is organising a national convention and public
meeting in Jorhat, Assam with the focus on impact of INDO-ASEAN agreement on
small tea growers in India.



The Plantation Sector Social Forum (PSSF) consisting of civil societies and
trade unions  of Sri Lanka is holding the 5th International Tea Day
conference in Hatton and the Mass Rally In Matale.

J John
CEC, New Delhi

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