Article

Human Resource Strategies Journal of Operations

and Strategic Planning
for Operational Planning: 1(1) 104–128
2018 International Management
Case Study of Tea Plantation Institute, Kolkata
SAGE Publications
Workers in India sagepub.in/home.nav
DOI: 10.1177/2516600X18774197
http://journals.sagepub.com/home/osp

Ananda Das Gupta1

Abstract
The concept of sustainability comes from considering the context of the organi-
zation. Leadership sustainability is not just what the leader does but how others
are impacted by the leader’s actions. We judge ourselves by our intentions, but
others judge us by our behaviors. It is imperative that the human resource devel-
opment (HRD) perspectives along with human rights initiatives (HRI) in the plan-
tation sector are of utmost importance in the direction of workers’ participation
in management, their promotional scopes, the welfare measures, and the fatigue
study to enhancing productivity.The role of government and the positive attitude
of corporate sector are to be initiated in tandem for ushering their sector into a
new dimension, which is but compulsory and nevertheless challenging.

Keywords
Working conditions, sustainability, tea workers, ABO model, way out, way forward

Introduction
The discovery of the tea bush in Assam by Robert Bruce inspired the colonial
capitalist to make large-scale investments in it. The availability of suitable land
and thin population were favorable conditions for growing tea in Assam, so was
the climate of Assam. The Brahmaputra Valley is perhaps the best tea-growing
area of the world with favorable soil, climate, and topography. Once the problem
of land was over, the planter had to manage necessary capital. To attract the inves-
tors, the colonialist enacted many laws in their favor. Within two decades, many
more companies with British capital made their entrance in different parts of

1
Professor (HRD-Area), Indian Institute of Plantation Management, Jnana Bharathi Campus,
Bangalore, India.
Corresponding author:
Ananda Das Gupta, Professor (HRD-Area), Indian Institute of Plantation Management, Jnana Bharathi
Campus, P.O. Malathalli, Bangalore–560 056, India.
E-mail: anandadg06@gmail.com
Gupta 105

Assam (Nag, 1990, pp. 51–52). Between 1859 and 1866, the British Authority
cleared the hills of Assam for new tea gardens and tried to attract huge invest-
ments for the industry. Within a few decades, tea manufacturers in Assam had
covered 54 percent of the market in the United Kingdom and had outstripped
China (Fernandes, Barbora & Bharali, 2003).
Faced with labor shortage, the planters had to get workers from other sources.
That is when they began to recruit workers from other parts of India, mostly
present day Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and so on, as indentured laborers in
slave-like conditions. This class of people was uprooted from their land and liveli-
hood by the Permanent Settlement 1793 meant to ensure regular tax collection for
the colonial government. Impoverishment was the consequence. So they had no
choice but to find other sources of livelihood. In the absence of other alternatives,
they were forced to follow the labor contractor and become indentured laborers on
the land that Assam’s indigenous communities had lost under the same colonial
processes to the tea plantations. Their initial recruitment was done through profes-
sional contractors who were notorious for abuses and exploitation. The tea garden
community folk songs have passed details of such exploitation down from one
generation to another (Gupta, 1990, pp. 51–53). This labor force has been popu-
larly called the “tea tribes” and “ex-tea tribes,” and there is debate about this
nomenclature, but we shall not enter into this debate. In 1997, a total of 0.59 lakh
laborers along with their dependents were working in 1,012 registered gardens
spread in an area of 0.232 lakh ha, which is 2.9 percent of Assam’s landmass
(Sagar, 2002, p. 1).
The role of the trade union is important. The emergence of trade unions is
recent in the tea industry of Assam. As late as 1946, the planters recognized them
on a differential basis. They identified the ones with whom they could negotiate.
But the planters were well organized from the beginning of 1879. Because of their
poor organization, the workers are dissatisfied with them. It also results in unrest
from time to time, for example, the killing of managers that one has witnessed in
recent years. One sees two main tendencies among the workers. One is their sudden
outbursts and the second, an organized and protracted struggle. One saw the first
type in the case of the Victoria Jute Mill workers in West Bengal in 1993 and the
second by the Kanoria Jute Mill (Debnath, 2003, p. 34).
Social security services generally mean the basic facilities that are necessary
for the mental, physical, and intellectual development of a person. They should
include food, shelter, and health care. Carl Wellman (1985) defined social
benefits as some form of assistance provided to an individual in need. Thus
“welfare” or “social security” is the collective name for all social benefits, espe-
cially for groups that need protection to grow into better citizens. A welfare state
has a moral obligation to ensure the good of all its citizens, particularly the
weaker sections. If it cannot provide all the facilities, it can take the help of other
agencies. (Madan & Madan, 1983, p. 163). A human being can lay an ethical
claim from his/her society on the minimum livelihood in the event that he or she
lacks the means of sustaining life because of circumstances beyond his or her
control (Wellman, 1996, p. 268). Though the other welfare measures in their
narrow sense do not include education particularly of the working class, Plantation
106 Journal of Operations and Strategic Planning 1(1)

Labour Act (PLA) of 1951 makes an exception to it and includes it among the
amenities to be provided to the workers. We can, therefore, justifiably include it
among their social security provisions.

Sustainability and Human Rights

The concept of sustainability comes from considering the context of the organiza-
tion. Leadership sustainability is not just what the leader does but how others are
impacted by the leader’s actions. We judge ourselves by our intentions but others
judge us by our behaviors. Leadership sustainability has to show up not only in
personal intentions but also in observable behaviors. Environmental sustainability
is about caring for the earth’s resources by reducing our carbon footprint.
Leadership sustainability is about caring for the organization’s resources by
adapting and changing leadership patterns so that they are consistent with shifting
requirements. Social sustainability is giving back to the community through
corporate social responsibility initiatives. Leadership sustainability occurs when
leaders take personal responsibility to ensure that they do what they say they will
do. Corporate sustainability is a long-term commitment to changing the world
in which we live and work. Leadership sustainability is a lasting and durable
commitment to personal change.
Corporations are increasingly being challenged to act in ways that serve the
best interests of society. Many companies are aggressively seeking strategies
that can allow them to “do well by doing good,” leaving a positive “footprint”
on the world and avoiding actions that could harm consumers, employees,
investors, competitors, suppliers, and the general public. In this series, we will
examine how corporations can become more effective at managing their social
impact, improving the relationships they have with all of their stakeholders in
the process. This volume is a unique combination of theoretical framework
combined with livewire cases from the field. In fact, a volume in this series has
been modeled for containing cases exclusively. This series is academic, accentu-
ated on experiential learning.
By working toward goals like increasing diversity in the workplace, increasing
the benefits for local communities, and increasing performance efficiencies, cor-
porate ethical behavior envisages to gain a competitive advantage. By demon-
strating a more caring and sustainable approach, the company is able to differentiate
itself from rival mining companies. It makes companies more likely to be the
partner of choice for many governments and communities in the developing
world. It also helps with its position on the stock market. Most long-term inves-
tors, such as pension funds that run investments for millions of ordinary people,
believe that it is important for a company to consider social and ethical issues
and not just the financial bottom line if a business is to be sustainable. Corporate
ethical behavior sees shareholder returns and social and environmental responsi-
bilities as complementary activities. This puts the company in a stronger position.
All stakeholders benefit shareholders, employees, governments, local communities,
and suppliers.
Gupta 107

Human rights are relevant to the economic, social, and environmental aspects
of corporate activity. For example, labor rights requiring companies to pay fair wages
affect the economic aspect. Human rights such as the right to non-discrimination are
relevant to the social aspect. And the environmental aspects of corporate activity
might affect a range of human rights, such as the right to clean drinking water.
So, while the primary responsibility for the enforcement of international human
rights standards lies with national governments, there is a growing acceptance that
corporations also have an important role to play. Corporations impact on human
rights in significant ways. These impacts have increased over recent decades as
the economic might and political influence of corporations have grown and as
corporations have become more involved in delivering services previously
provided by governments. Corporations have come to recognize that part of being
a good corporate citizen includes respecting the human rights of those who come
into contact with the corporation in some way.
Over the past decade, the international community has made significant
advances in examining and clarifying the links between corporations and human
rights. A wide variety of voluntary initiatives have been developed by individual
companies, industry bodies, NGOs, inter-governmental bodies and multi-stakeholder
groups. These initiatives include voluntary guidelines and codes of conduct,
monitoring and reporting procedures, and socially responsible reporting indexes.
Under such initiatives, hundreds of corporations worldwide have publicly com-
mitted to upholding specific human rights standards. This illustrates the growing
acceptance of the need for corporations to simultaneously protect the interests
of their shareholders, employees, customers, and the community in which they
operate.

The Labor Scenario

The tea industry in India employs more than 1.5 million workers. Every seventh
worker in the organized sector (out of the total estates in India, about 65 percent
estates are owned by the Corporate giants and around 35 percent of the estates
belong to the Proprietors) industries is a tea worker. The tea plantations of Assam
and West Bengal together account for the employment of more than a million
workers as well as about 80 percent of the total production in India.The tea planta-
tion workers, mostly tribals and lower castes, are the backbone of the tea industry
in eastern India. They are fourth generation descendants of indentured immigrants
brought by the colonial planters 150 years back from the tribal tracts of Bengal,
Bihar, Orissa, and Madhya Pradesh. Literatures abound depicting the inhuman
living and working conditions of the tea workers during the colonial period. Living
and working in isolated plantation enclaves, they were as good as bonded laborers.
Laws existed to penalize the workers not to protect them. The planters were the
omnipotent authority. It was their raj.
With increasing job opportunities for good material, that too in urban areas,
the problem that tea gardens are facing now and which may accentuate in future
lies in management of tea garden, in that no talented person shall like to make a
108 Journal of Operations and Strategic Planning 1(1)

career in the secluded life of a tea garden, with problems such as providing good
education to children and job opportunities for spouses, having limited chances of
promotion and a lack of cultural/social activities, and leading a life cut off from
the civilized world. Furthermore, there is hardly any career planning or motiva-
tion. Obviously, the tea garden may have to reconcile with second class talent to
run the garden even at attractive pay scales and perks. Most of the gardens are
also facing shortage of workforce to harvest green leaf in peak seasons. There is
an attitudinal change in the workers and less number of workers are willing to do
manual jobs. The welfare measures are a major factor as far as productivity is
concerned.The laborers need to be housed well and provided with good medical
facilities and amenities. The Plantation Labor Act stipulates that a plantation with
more than 1,000 workers should have a full-fledged hospital and that the medical
facilities should be provided free of cost. This is vital because the plantation is set
up in geographically treacherous areas. The workers have to work in high altitudes
and during heavy rains. Besides this, they have to walk long distances from home
to the workplace. Transportation is difficult as vehicles cannot ply to all parts of
the tea gardens. The plantation is an outdoor-oriented work in the forests and is
highly physically demanding of the worker. Moreover, the nutritional factors are
important. The survey revealed that 100 percent of the workers in the south
took normal rice and dhal-based food while non-vegetarian food (red meat) is
consumed at a minimum of once a week and not more than twice a week. Fresh
vegetables are not available in village shops; in addition, the workers also complain
that they have no time to go to the nearest town to make any real purchases.
An interconnected aspect to this is the rest time for the workers. While they have
to leave home early so as to reach the work site in time, breakfast is not taken or
the leftover food is taken in the morning. Rest time during the working hours
came up as an important factor. Absenteeism due to laziness have been reported
by all the field officers and the managers and supervisors alike. The same has
been presented in a different angle by the male workers. They complain of lack of
rest during working hours, and they say that the real-time work is more than eight
hours a day. Mental disorientation was also noticed among all the male and
female workers. The whole lot reported that they are working just for a living,
and they do not find any happiness or pleasure or satisfaction in working in the
plantation under the present wages, housing, and other welfare measures provided.
They also add that it is out of financial compulsion.
In spite of the sporadic efforts being made to improve labor conditions during
the pre-independence days, certain appreciable changes in the condition of planta-
tion workers took place only after Independence. The first and foremost step in
this direction was the enactment of the PLA of 1951. This Act is a very compre-
hensive document and its provisions extend to the health, housing, education,
social welfare, leisure, recreation and working conditions, and so on, of plantation
workers. The Act also intended to bring about uniformity in all matters concern-
ing plantation labor and, improves their quality of life in all spheres. It provides
safeguards for them against exploitation by regulating their hours of work, rest
intervals, minimum age of employment of children and adolescents and provides
for annual leave with wages, and so on.
Gupta 109

Wages
The most striking feature of the Northern and Southern gardens is the difference
in wages. While average monthly wages of the workers in Assam and West Bengal
figured at around `48 per day plucking, in Tamil Nadu they were around `81 per
day plucking.
The only difference between Tamil Nadu and the two northern states (Assam and
West Bengal) is that workers in the latter are given a part of their wages in kind.
They are given rations of 2.25 kg of rice and wheat per week at a subsidized rate.
Workers in Tamil Nadu are given rations at rates, which are slightly below market
rates, but the quantity is more. The subsidy worked out to be around `5 per day.

Housing
While comparing the housing conditions in Assam, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu,
we find that there are similarities between the two former states and differences
with the latter state. It gives a picture that had the employers adhered to the PLA
(1951), all houses would have been made permanent in Assam and West Bengal
by 1969. In Tamil Nadu plantations, however, the houses meet the specifications
of the Act.Again, in terms of sanitation and water, Tamil Nadu plantations
have adequate sanitary facilities.Where each house has a toilet or two houses are
provided with a common toilet, the labor lines in Assam and West Bengal do not
have these facilities.Barring a few gardens maintained and owned by the corpo-
rate groups, access to health services in the gardens in Assam, West Bengal and
Tamil Nadu is not adequate because, by and large, the requirements of the PLA
have not been met. The ill-maintained creches, barring Tamil Nadu, where a better
record is available in maintaining creches, are also a factor in contributing to the
welfare of the plantation laborers.

Women Workers
Women workers, in general, are agitated over their harsh working conditions.
During the plucking seasons, they are forced to work for more than 8 hours—
either late into the night or start very early in the morning. Lactating mothers face
a lot of inconvenience. Even pregnant women are forced into deep hoeing.
Women, who join after maternity leave are not given light work, and the planters
do not care a fig about their health conditions. Subharani, a permanent worker in
Baishahabi tea estate, developed complications immediately on joining work.
She could not work for the next few months. Finally, her job was terminated.
Lack of women supervisors is also a source of trouble for women. Women
workers get apprehensive and work amidst constant fear of sexual harassment
and assault, especially when working in secluded areas or in bungalows of the
management staff. The workers of Baishahabi estate alleged that two girls,
Durga and Mani were raped by the manager in 1996. Durga committed suicide,
110 Journal of Operations and Strategic Planning 1(1)

and Mani is still missing. The two families have been denied any justice there-
after. Casualization of the work force is on the rise in the tea industry. Through the
decades of 1950s and 1960s, the number of permanent workers in the Assam tea
plantations was reduced by a staggering 25.61 percent. Within a short span of
seven years, between 1984 and 1991, the temporary labor force increased from
170,495 to 268,450 and has almost touched the 0.3 million figure. Majority of
them are women. Women workers have been gradually shifted to the temporary
labor category. According to a member of the State Women’s Commission, who is
a tea worker herself, the planters have resorted to this ploy “primarily to deprive
the women workers of their basic rights as enshrined in the PLA, such as mater-
nity benefit and medical benefit.” “Many of us are thereby denied housing, subsi-
dized food grains, provident fund and bonus,” she says.

Medical Facilities
Health and medical care of tea garden workers has been a very controversial topic
mainly because of lack of uniformity. This has invited sharp criticism in the case
of some gardens and appraisal for others. It was only after the passing of the PLA
of 1951 that a uniform Medicare format for tea plantation labor was worked out.
According to the PLA (1951), every tea plantation, employing not less than 1,000
workers is required to maintain a hospital or have a lien on a certain number of
beds available at the hospital on the nearest neighboring plantation. Basic first aid
kit and medicines should always be there even if it cannot provide a hospital or
dispensary. Tea estates must employ necessary qualified staff who work under the
supervision of a medical officer in the hospital of the nearest tea garden. For every
thousand workers, the estate hospital must possess at least 15 beds. Such estates
are required to have a full-time medical officer, a nurse, a midwife, a health assis-
tant, a compounder (paramedical staff), and a dresser. These hospitals have to be
equipped with an operation theatre, a delivery room, an outdoor patient consulta-
tion room, and a kitchen.Other necessary equipment such as oxygen cylinders
must also be there. There should be a separate ward for female patients and one
isolation ward has to be provided as well. The hospital should be equipped with
basic and necessary medicines.
Some small tea estates, especially in Darjeeling Hills, do not have resident
medical officers but they usually have ad hoc arrangements with outside doctors
who visit on fixed weekly intervals. But this is not a very suitable solution because
sometimes for serious and emergency cases it becomes difficult to shift patients to
hospitals, and lack of timely attention can be quite dangerous. Often female
patients suffering from complications during delivery have died because no doctor
could be contacted in time to handle such cases. Hence the government and the
industry should find some better alternatives. The district medical centers and
government dispensaries should be located near such tea estates because there is
often a high concentration of resident population on plantations, including many
who are not workers or direct dependents of workers. Such people often have no
access to any medical facilities, hence both workers and non-workers of such
Gupta 111

far-flung estates could benefit if such facilities were provided.Each estate is also
required to have at least one ambulance for sending patients to district hospitals.
Now almost all tea gardens have acquired ambulances.
As in the case of other amenities, the quality of medical facilities and hospitals
in tea gardens differ from estate to estate. Some well-run tea gardens are maintain-
ing very decent, neat and clean, and well-equipped hospitals with proper build-
ings and compounds, whereas there are some where medical facilities are nothing
but a sham. This was the case in the early days as well. Some hospitals were just
temporary sheds without even a qualified doctor. In those days it was quite com-
mon for pioneer planters and managers to treat tea garden patients themselves.
However, with time, there was gradual improvement and very soon the native
“doctor babus” appeared on the scene.

Methodology: Case Study of Tea Plantations in Assam

Sources of Data
Primary data have been collected from sample tea gardens. Required data have
been obtained from personnel records, drawn from supervisor entries, taking
worker day as unit of analysis. Observations include the number of kilograms of
tea leaf plucked by each worker.
This one number is our measure of productivity.

Literature review

Setting the research objectives

Selection of study Area

Data collection

Data analysis and discussions of results

HRM models for integration, enlightenment

and better productivity options.

Conclusion and decommendation

Box 1. Methodology
Source: Field Survey, 2015.
112 Journal of Operations and Strategic Planning 1(1)

Attention was restricted to only those days on which pluckers participated and
were assigned to plucking duty. The reason for such focus on actual plucking days
is twofold. First, on days when the worker is absent, there are no means of knowing
to what activity she would have been assigned. That will compel us to assign a miss-
ing value for productivity, rather than a zero, to such an observation. Second, when
workers are assigned to non-plucking activities, there is no comparable measure of
productivity. The tea plantation is made up of a number of fields on which tea
bushes grow in rows. The production of tea leaves—fresh, unprocessed leaves—is
labor intensive. Flushes, each comprising three leaves and a bud, are plucked from
tea bushes manually, either by hand or with metal shears. For the purpose of our
study, this is the final output.

Nature of Data
The basic objective of the study is to examine the impact of social security on the
productivity of tea garden workers. To achieve this objective, five variables had
been taken. Labor productivity is the dependent variable and health security,
employment, financial security, and educational status of workers are independent
variables. On the basis of the survey of literature, the information on various
aspects collected are: composition of household, educational background, employ-
ment profile, financial access, and production data of the workers. To estimate the
livelihood condition of the worker, a “social security score” has been calculated.
The basic idea of “social security score” has been taken from (Sarma, 2015).
The score has been calculated taking the following aspects: possession of land,
housing and other household assets, garden hospital facility, and particular benefits
for workers by garden authority and financial inclusion. So,
16
Social Security Score = ∑ i = 0 si
s1 = Insurance s9 = Blanket
s2 = Bank account s10 = Umbrella
s3 = Medical support s11 = Slipper
s4 = Housing support s12 = Domestic Animal
s5 = Land s13 = Jewelery
s6 = Rice s14 = Bicycle
s7 = Wheat s15 = Firewood
s8 = Bonus s16 = Crèche
Access to any of these benefits is given the value 1 and non-availability has been
assigned value zero. For example, if a respondent prefers to go to a garden hospital
in a health crisis then it is assigned 1 otherwise 0, S = Σsi, i = 1, 2, 3…16

Data Collection
Data Collection Tools
Interview Methods. Personal interviews and group interviews were conducted.
One group session was conducted with an average of 10–12 workers in each
Gupta 113

garden. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 individuals (comparatively

educated person in a workers line) in order to understand and explore the current
situation of construction industry.
Process of Data Collection
Sampling Method. Three important steps have been followed to collect the
sample. The size of the sample was 112.
First step: The workers were covered from five special locations: Chaabua,
Duliajan, Maakum, Dibrugarh Town, and Doom-Dooma. These areas had been
selected because they are among high tea garden-concentrated areas, and they are
familiar to the researcher so that the data can be verified in future if needed.
Moreover, Chaabua is the place where the first tea garden of Assam was estab-
lished at least 200 years before. That garden also has been included.
Second step: As relevant studies (Sarma, 2015) show that the area covered by
each worker varies with the size of the garden. That’s why our sample had been
divided in three categories size-wise to include that factor. This division also
helps to include ownership of garden factor since our objective is to study effect
of social security on labor productivity and social security meant for tea garden
workers varies according to ownership of the gardens, which has been mentioned
in many studies on livelihood of tea garden workers. In our sample, all the three
large gardens taken are owned by private companies, and four out of five small
gardens taken are owned by individual owners.
When a population is scattered over a region and complete lists of the total
population are not available, “clustering” is of assistance in sampling. The sample
has been divided into three clusters, that is, large, medium, and small on the basis
of size of the gardens. A fair representation was tried best to be given to all three
segments of Tea gardens. There are 91 small-sized (10–100 ha), 112 medium-
sized (100–400 ha) and 65 large-sized (above 400 ha) tea gardens in Dibrugarh
tea district. So, in that ratio, four small, five medium, and three large tea gardens
has been covered (i.e., 4.5% of each group) for primary survey. Totally 112 workers,
both permanent and casual, have been selected for direct personal interview with
close end questions. So initially, cluster samplings have been taken giving each
category a proportionally equal representation and within a category, random
sampling has been done. A garden below 10 ha has been avoided, because they are
too small to deploy permanent workers to provide social security. That’s why
those have not been counted in Laws meant for tea garden workers.
Third step: Two separate structured schedules with questions have been prepared
(in English). One is for tea garden workers to collect information about their level
of informalization and social security on various aspects of social security. Only
closed-ended questions were included because the study is basically a quantitative
study. There is another schedule for tea garden authorities and supervisors to
know about total figures on parameters for productivity in each garden.
Age estimation was certainly a great problem in the field, where written
records were not available in most of the cases, especially in this community.
But age was corrected in all possible ways such as reference with the important
114 Journal of Operations and Strategic Planning 1(1)

local events of recent history and of course cross checking from the elderly
individuals. The illiteracy and backwardness of the workers was another big
problem while collecting data.

Study Area: Assam

The study was conducted from September 2015 to March 2016. Primary survey
had been done in Dibrugarh tea district (i.e., Dibrugarh and Tinsukia administra-
tive districts), which is situated on the southern bank of the river Brahmaputra and
lies in the Northeastern corner of Assam. It extends between 94°44′ E and 95° E
longitudes and 27°3′45 N and 8° N latitudes. It is bounded on the north by the
rivers Brahmaputra and Lohit, on the east by a part of Lohit of Arunachal Pradesh,
and the southwestern boundary of the district runs along the eastern boundary of
Sibsagar district. Population of the district is composed of the members of various
ethnic, linguistic, social, and religious affiliations. Dibrugarh had population of
1,326,335 where male and female populations were 676,434 and 649,981, respec-
tively (Assam D. o., 2011). Around 30 percent of the plantations of the state are
situated here. It is also estimated that around 25 percent of the population of the
district is composed of tea and ex-tea plantation workers and their dependence.
Dibrugarh had 145 tea estates (Assam Document Office, 2011).
Dibrugarh is the largest tea district in Assam. It has the highest number of tea
estates, highest area under tea plantation, and of course highest yield. Dibrugarh
has total of 22,855 tea estates spread over 95,118 ha of land. Apart from a large
number of small tea growers, conventional tea estates have diverse features in

Table 1. Locational and Size Distribution of Enumerated Gardens

Sr. Category
No. Name of the Gardens Ownership District Area (ha) of Garden
1 Chabua TE Amalgamated Tinsukia 755 Large
2 Glinderth Company Tinsukia 545 Large
3 Rajgarh TE Company Dibrugarh 955 Large
4 Ethelwood TE Company Dibrugarh 145.6 Medium
5 Nadua TE Private owner Dibrugarh 264 Medium
6 Muttok TE Private owner Dibrugarh 325 Medium
7 Madhuting TE Company Dibrugarh 395 Medium
8 Moud TE Private owner Tinsukia 165 Medium
9 Jalpaniya TE Private owner Tinsukia 100 Small
10 Purbipur TE Private owner Dibrugarh 100 Small
11 Hatikhola TE Private owner Tinsukia 11.52 Small
12 Madhuban TE Company Dibrugarh 100 Small
Source: Field Survey, 2015.
Gupta 115

terms of forms of ownership, industry affiliation, and size. Adequate care has been
taken to ensure that the sample includes all kinds of tea estates, that is, large,
medium, and small tea gardens. The name of the tea estates which are included in
the field survey are mentioned herein as follows:
The primary survey was done in Dibrugarh tea district (i.e., Dibrugarh
and Tinsukia administrative districts). There are 91 small-sized (10-100 ha),
112 medium-sized (100,400 ha) and 65 large-sized (above 400 ha) tea gardens in
Dibrugarh tea district. So in that ratio 4 small, 5 medium, and 3 large tea gardens
have been covered (i.e., 4.5% of each group) for primary survey of total of
112 workers. The study has covered 12 tea gardens, namely, Chabua, Glinderth,
Rajgarh, Ethelwood, Nadua, Muttok, Madhuting, Moud, Jalpaniya, Purbipur,
Hatikhola and Madhuban managed and owned by different management and
owners. Chabua is an amalgamated tea estate with highest share owned by TATA.
Glinderth Tea estate is a joint venture of an MNC and an Indian company Kothari
group of industries. Rajgarh is also jointly owned by two companies, namely,
Jindal and Co. and Bajabari group. Ethelwood tea estate is now owned by an India
tea company Jalan group. Nadua, Muttok and Moud tea estates are owned by
Indian or Assam native owners. Madhuban and Madhuting tea estates are owned
by MNC Warren but managed by Assam native management. Purbipur and
Hatikhola tea estates are owned and managed by Assam native owners, though
their head offices are in Kolkata. It is based on the assumption that pecuniary and
non-pecuniary benefits to the workers may vary in estates managed by different
managements. The gardens are purposively selected in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia
administrative districts of Assam, and workers are selected randomly. Gardens of
size 100 ha or less are taken as small-sized gardens, more than 100 ha to 400 ha
are clubbed as medium-sized garden and gardens above 400 ha are considered
large-sized gardens. The stated figures on the number of workers, including
both permanent and casual workers, engaged in the sampled tea estates reveal
the prevalence of massive casualization. Here 58 percent workers are casual,
as indicated in Table 2.
It is discovered that the large-sized holdings depend more on casual workers
(59.25%) and that the intensity of permanent workers is relatively more in
medium-sized holdings. A reasonably larger concentration of casual workers in
the smallholdings is due to the fact that more workers are used to clear the flush
during the peak plucking season. Large gardens have ample spaces and plenty of

Table 2. Workers in Different Employment Relations

No. of Permanent Percent of No. of Casual Percent of Casual

Workers Permanent Workers Workers Workers Total
Large 11 40.7 16 59.25 27
Medium 24 42.1 33 57.8 57
Small 12 41.37 17 58.6 29
Total 47 42.59 66 58.4 113
Source: Field Survey, 2015.
116 Journal of Operations and Strategic Planning 1(1)

abandoned workers in coolie lines. Tea gardens not only differ in their sizes and
volume of leaves produced; they also differ in terms of location. Relatively large
gardens are located near National Highways and more integrated with local econ-
omy. So they have more access to outside workforce. This flexible use of labor is
possible because the labor supply is not constrained in Assam. These linkages are
relatively weak in remote gardens with poor connectivity status.
Despite the poor provisions at work and poor conditions of the workers, the tea
plantation sector of Assam still enclaves the workforce. Most of the workers were
in destitute condition as 49.07 percent workers (53 in numbers) were indebted
(see Figure 0.6).
A total of 15 percent of the workers even sell family assets such as animals,
jewelry, or other household products. Field interactions revealed a casual worker
or an unemployed person in the tea plantation area aspires to become a permanent
worker in the estates. A permanent job in the plantation estates provides a regular
source of income and some non-pecuniary benefits. In relative terms, in tea plan-
tations areas, a job in the sector is still considered as the only possible opportunity
for better livelihood. Figure 0.6 reflects how opportunities for decent alternative
jobs in plantations areas are limited and how even with a certain level of attain-
ment of education it is impossible for them to move out for a decent job.

Labor Productivity Differential in Three Categories of Gardens

One way ANOVA has been used is to determine if the mean labor productivity is
different in large-, medium-, and small-sized tea gardens [1 = large 2 = medium
3 = small]
H0 = Large=Medium=Small garden in terms of labor productivity
H1 = All the three categories of garden are not equal in terms of labor
productivity
ANOVA was conducted to compare the effect of size of the garden on labor
productivity of workers in Large, Medium and Small conditions. Significance level
shows H0 can be rejected. There was significant of size of the gardens on labor
productivity at 99 percent confidence interval for all three categories [F (2, 12) =
36.731P = 0.000]

Table 3. Descriptive Statistics of ANOVA

No. of Mean (kg

Workers per Hour) Std Deviation Std Error Minimum Maximum
Large 26 5.12019 1.119978 0.219646 3.500 7.500
Medium 57 6.90351 1.081247 0.143215 4.375 8.750
Small 29 5.04741 1.211650 0.224998 3.125 7.500
Total 112 6.00893 1.442275 0.136282 3.125 8.750
Source: Field Survey, 2015.
Gupta 117

Table 4. Result of One Way ANOVA Test

Sum of Squares Degrees of Freedom Mean Square F Significance

Between 92.963 2 46.481 36.731 0.000
Groups
Total 230.897 111
Source: Field Survey, 2015.

Table 5. Tukey Homogeneous Subset Test

Subset for alpha = 0.05

Category No. of Worker 1 2
Small 29 5.04741
Large 26 5.12019
Medium 57 6.90351
Source: Field Survey, 2015.

But a simple one way ANOVA result only shows the existence of difference in
means. To know which group is statistically different a Post Hoc test, Tukey
Homogeneous Group test has been done.
H0 = Large and Small garden = Medium Garden
H1 = Large and Small ≠ Medium.
Means for groups in homogeneous subsets are displayed.
The results show that mean labor productivity of medium-sized garden is
significantly different from other two. So null hypothesis is rejected, which is
evident because mean labor productivity in medium-sized garden is 6.9 kg per
worker/hour. And that of large-sized garden is 5, 2 kg per worker/hour and
5.0 per worker/hour. Table 5 shows that in this sample, permanent workers are
proportionately higher in medium-sized gardens.
So higher the permanent workers, higher is the average labor productivity.

Social Security and Labor Productivity

To know the impact of social securities, a regression analysis has been done
taking labor productivity as dependent variable and the social security score as
independent variable. It is a conglomeration of 16 different aspects as defined in
the methodology.
Since tea leaf plucking requires unskilled labor, only experience matters more
than education. That’s why experience has been taken as another independent
variable Experience is also a proxy of age since all workers join the almost at the
same early age.
Following this, a multistage regression also has been done to know the aspects
among social securities that matters most in determining the labor productivity.
118 Journal of Operations and Strategic Planning 1(1)

Wage has not been taken as independent variable nor included in social security
score. Many times money that permanent workers receive is marginally lower
than casual workers. This is because permanent workers very often take loans
from garden authorities, which is taken off at the time of payment. Moreover,
casual workers are more prone to overtime work, so finally receive more money.
So inclusion of wage could give us a misleading result.

Empirical Analysis
Regression model:
Yi = B0 + B1X1 + B2X2 + B3D1 + B4D1 + Ui
Yi is Labor Productivity
Xi is Social Security Score
X2 is Experience in years worked as plucking worker i is no of Respondent,
that is, I = 1, 2, 3, …62
Ui = Well-behaved error term
This model has been used for all three categories of workers

Table 6. Descriptive Statistics of Regression for Small Gardens

Standard
Variables Observations Mean Deviation Minimum Maximum
Labor productivity 29 5.068966 1.250262 3.125 7.5
Social Security 29 7.758621 3.661139 2 15
Score
Experience 29 13.16667 6.475861 2 30
Source: Field Survey, 2015.

Table 7. Regression Result for Small Gardens

Variable Coefficient
Constant 3.399*** (0.520)
Experience 0.057 (0.03)
Social security score 0.117* (0.064)
N 29
R2 0.3170
F-value 6.03
Source: Field Survey, 2015.
Notes: *** Significant at 99% confidence level, * Significant at 90% confidence level (Figures in
bracket are Standard Error).
Gupta 119

Small Garden
Dependent variable: labor productivity
The regression results show, contrary to anticipation, experience hardly has
any significant impact on labor productivity. But social security has significant
impact on labor productivity. For any increase in social security score labor
productivity goes up by 0.12 kg per worker/hour.
Medium Garden
Dependent variable: labor productivity
In medium-sized gardens, experience is also has a significant impact on labor
productivity, but its effect is less than social security. Another notable point is
R2 of the regression result. As we moved from small gardens to medium gardens,
the R2 became smaller. That will became further less in large gardens.

Table 8. Descriptive Statistics of Regression for Medium Garden

Variable Mean S.D. Min Max

Labor productivity 6.77 1.15 4.3 8.7
Experience 15.57 6.78 2 30
Social security Score 8.49 3.14 4 14
Source: Field Survey, 2015.

Table 9. Regression Result for Medium Gardens

Variable Coefficient
Constant 5.22*** (0.405)
Social security score 0.106*** (0.05)
Experience 0.034* (0.022)
N 57
R2 0.1951
F-value 6.55
Source: Field Survey, 2015.
Notes: *** Significant at 99% confidence level, * Significant at 90% confidence level (Figures in
bracket are Standard Error).

Table 10. Descriptive Statistics of Regression for Large Gardens

Variable Mean S.D. Min Max

Labor productivity 4.97 1.03 3.5 7.5
Experience 12.88 5.2 5 30
Social security score 9.05 2.91 5 15
Source: Field Survey, 2015.
120 Journal of Operations and Strategic Planning 1(1)

Table 11. Regression Result for Large Gardens

Variable Coefficient
Constant 4.57*** (0.74)
Social security score 0.005 (0.092)
Experience 0.026 (0.05)
N 26
R2 0.021
F-value 0.25
Source: Field Survey, 2015.
Notes: *** Significant at 99% confidence level (Figures in bracket are Standard Error)

Large Gardens
Dependent variable: labor productivity
In case of large gardens, our previous results and conceptual anticipations
became reverse. There is no significant effect of social security on labor produc-
tivity. Large tea gardens in the study also have some other peculiarities also.
All three large gardens are owned by multinational companies. That may be the
reason average social security score in the large garden category is highest.
They have better supervisory system. Their location is also not so remote. But why
this result is different for them and what are other factors that affected the
results is a matter of further research. Moreover, in terms of total area coverage,
number of workers engaged, and capital deployed, our sample for large garden
is quite small
Combined Multiple Regression
To overcome the limitations in case of large gardens and to grasp overall picture,
a multiple regression can be done introducing three categories of gardens as a
dummy variable. For this multiple regression data for labor productivity, social
security score and experience for all three categories of gardens are combined.
Regression model:
Yi = B0 + B1 X1 + B2 X2 + B3 Dj + Ui
Yi is Labor Productivity
Xi is Social Security Score

Table 12. Mean Social Security Score in Three Categories of Gardens

Garden Category Mean Social Security Score

Large 9.5
Medium 8.49
Small 7.75
Source: Field Survey, 2015.
Gupta 121

X2 is Experience in years worked as plucking worker

Dj is Category of Gardens, where j = 1, 2, 3,
D1 = Large Garden, D2 = Medium Gardens, D3 = Small gardens i is no of
Respondent, that is, I = 1, 2, 3, …112 Ui = well-behaved error term.
With a combined large sample, social security score, experience, and category
of garden are three important independent variables that have a significant impact
on labor productivity of tea garden workers. There is 99 percent probability that
with one unit increase in social security score, labor productivity will increase by
0.9 kg per worker/hour, and this categorically solves the basic objective of the
study. And with one additional year of experience, labor productivity could
increase by 0.04 kg per worker/hour.

Way Out
Human right is a multifaceted concept. While production is the actual output, human
resource development (HRD) with an accent on human rights is only a means of
achieving the output. It is concerned with an effective and efficient utilization
of resource capital, material, energy, information and humans. Factors affecting

Table 13. Descriptive Statistics for Multiple Regressions

Variable Mean S.D. Min Max

Labor productivity 5.91 1.44 3.12 8.75
Experience 14.33 6.48 2 30
Social security score 8.53 3.26 2 15
Source: Field Survey, 2015.

Table 14. Regression Result of Combined Multiple Regressions

Variable Coefficient
Constant 3.551*** (0.371)
Social security score 0.924** (0.035)
Experience 0.042** (0.017)
D2 1.781*** (0.260)
N 112
R2 0.4827
F-value 24.96
Source: Field Survey, 2015.
Notes: *** Significant at 99% confidence level, ** Significant at 95% confidence level (Figures in
bracket are Standard Error).
122 Journal of Operations and Strategic Planning 1(1)

productivity may be (a) technology (b) capital (c) labor quality (d) economies
of scale and (e) resource allocation. Some definitive action plans should now
be chalked out for workers to face the challenges of the millennium in the
plantations:

1. Continuous and periodically held counseling regarding absenteeism,

alcoholism, productivity, performance, and so on, and educating womenfolk
about small family, childcare, good housekeeping, and health care.
2. Encouraging Thrift by the way of deposits in post office and co-operative
and nationalized banks. At the same time, life insurance policies can also
be introduced as a part of a self-awareness program.
3. Stopping Badli system by providing opportunities/financial support to
the children of the workers and hiring better workers by spotting the
right person.
4. Enhancing the role of the Government in setting up Training and
Motivational Centers in plantations.
5. Ergonomic studies are to be taken up for preventing fatigue and enhancing
productivity.
6. Making provisions for facilitating the Women workers (constituting the
major portion in the work force) with equal rights on the economic front,
stoppage of sexual harassment in the work place and providing a cleaner
environment for the general well-being.
7. The “Mothers’ Club” Approach: The original plan was to a have one mothers’
club member for every 20–25 households in the garden. The only qualifica-
tions thought for membership were that the women concerned should be
literate, active in community affairs, and enjoy the respect and confidence of
the community to which they belong. Among the many responsibilities and
duties of the mother club, the important ones are:
i. Each member is to be responsible for 30–35 households
ii. Teaching mothers on weaning food
iii. Education and motivating workers on family planning programs.
iv. Motivating through line meeting and group meetings among women.
v. Arranging immunization programs for children
vi. Looking after pregnant women and arranging antenatal check-ups in
garden hospital. Chlorinating drinking water sources, and so on.

Action by Objective (ABO) Model: Strategic Leveraging

This theory (Das Gupta, 1995; Das Gupta & Sageetha, 2017) exemplifies a
method of self-control and the way of fixing the target with reference to one’s
own strength and weakness to execute the projects. It comprises the sequential
conduct of the following four functions:

1. Reviewing and renovating strategies;

2. Proving a job-improvement plan and congenial work environment;
Gupta 123

3. Using present and potential performance review in a systematic way; and

4. Strengthening the ability and enriching the skills of the leaders through
Effective training and development.

In ABO approach, the objectives are handed down with no spirit of authoritari-
anism and as a tool for self-appraisal and self-development.It moves toward
self-reliance, which is having four components: (a) self-confidence, (b) better
understanding, (c) team spirits, and (d) excellence in work. The whole process
increases the credibility of the review results and performance levels in the partici-
patory approach under the “bottom-up” theory, under which “Processing” is guided
by ABO objectives.
The concept of ABO is basically based on five principles:

1. Caring for others

2. Helping them to solve the problems
3. This makes the team morally driven
4. The team becomes more independent
5. This leads the team to self-realization

Reviewing and
renovating
strategies
Job-improvement
plan & congenial Self-confidence
work-environment Better
Present and Job understanding
ABO
potential improvement Team spirit
performance
Excellence
review in a
in work
systematic way
Strengthening
the ability &
enriching the skills

From the Processing guided

To the customer
plantation by ABO objective

Feedback based on the four

components of job improvement

Figure 1. Action by Objective Model

Source: Das Gupta, 1995; Das Gupta and Sageetha, 2017
124 Journal of Operations and Strategic Planning 1(1)

Thus, the ABO team members are those who:

1. Produce performers
2. Set personal examples; are visible and accessible on the move
3. Find ways to overcome obstacles and
4. Manage them.

Therefore, with the technique of ABO, a work culture can be developed in an

organization which is pointed toward harmonization paradigm which embraces
two aspects:
a. Immediate goal-achievement factors and;
b. Ultimate goal-achievement factors

The immediate goal-achievement factors comprise:

i. Direction setting
ii. Resolution of conflicts and
iii. Team spirit.

These three factors culminate ultimately into ultimate goal achievement, that is,
the self-reliance, the center of a halo from which the following four result-
oriented factors are being diffused:

1. Knowledge-based performance
2. Value-based management
3. Development forward excellence and;
4. Shared goals.

Finally, the work culture dynamics of the HRD depends upon two major factors,
namely:

1. Selection of ABO criterion.

2. Value-based mission—which propagates:

Key Issues
1. Inadequate or poor facilities of housing
2. Poor facilities of drinking water
3. Lack of communication among the workers
4. Interference of belligerent unions for vested interests and not linking wage
increase with productivity
5. Influence of outside agencies (like local political parties to woo votes)
6. Increase in incidence of theft (particularly green leaf) and general rowdiness
due basically to unemployment
7. Insurgency problem
8. Malaria-prone areas
9. Proper implementation of PLA and Factories Act
10. The disproportionate increase in workers’ family population.
Gupta 125

Way Forward

Proposed Action Plans

1. Workers’ education training and motivation programs for productivity and
work culture development
2. Periodically held health awareness program
3. Implementation of PLA and Factories Act in full
4. To bring about an openness approach in the management style and involve
more people in the decision-making process
5. Population control measures and creativity awareness among the workforce

• Education for workers

• Identification of potentialities among them
Stimulatory & • Motivation-training to new recruits (both workers &
support managers)
• Involvement of top management in counselling the
workforce.

• Involvement of top management in expansion &

Sustaining diversification
• Establishing of need-based common facilities centers
for training & ‘retraining’ the managers & work
force/group-leaders.

• Conducting “small Business Activity”

Human Values • Putting emphasis on occupational safety, health
centers, housing, recreational facilities & vocational
training for the children of the workers
• Induction of SEWA (self-mastery, Empathy for
juniors, workers directedness, Achievement in
performance) approach in the sector.
• Work culture development, through ABO
(Action-by-objective) concept, developing excellence
in skills and creating different level of “critical
capabilities” among the workers.

Figure 2. Action Plan Model

Source: Provided by the author.
126 Journal of Operations and Strategic Planning 1(1)

6. Adequate medical facilities for the workforce

7. Day-to-day functioning may be discussed in a group involving a “leading”
group of workers
8. Encouraging thrift among the workers
9. Children/adolescents of the workers are to be motivated in a positive way.

Need for CSR

Focusing on three key areas for Corporate Social Responsibility can help create a
cohesive map for the present and future:

• Community Relations,
• Training and Development, and
• A Cohesive Global Corporate Social Responsibility Platform

Encouraging Community Relations through the HR team includes implement-

ing reward programs, charitable contributions, and encouraging community
involvement and practices. Examples of these programs include sending
emails and company newsletters to staff members that highlight employees
and managers involved in community relations or creating monthly reward
programs to recognize efforts by individuals within the company.
Training and Development programs that explain the connection between the
company’s core products or services and the society at large, their value to the local
community, and ways in which employees can get involved in appropriate CSR
projects would sustain and direct these initiatives. The three domains of the triple
bottom line, that is, economic, social, and environmental aspects, are inextricably
linked. Sometimes a slightly more complex model is proposed, a souped-up 3BL
model: The following model is a refinement of the international triple bottom-line
model: people, planet and profit.

The Social Dimension

The social dimension is the one favored by the unions, and the area that needs to be
stressed, because it concerns the unions’ deepest concerns. Some people believe that
social aspects of CSR tend to be neglected or get left by the wayside.

The Economic Dimension

The economic dimension is company-internal and therefore primarily involves
their staff and shareholders, especially via socially responsible investment and an
employee savings scheme. The economic dimension also involves managers, and
in particular, the way they devise companies’ economic policies.
Gupta 127

The Environmental Dimension

The environmental dimension is now recognized as an area of corporate respon-
sibility, apart from the government policy, which regards the environment as a
societal problem rather than a problem associated with the world of work. Some
confederations point out that companies’ care for the environment begins with
health and safety in the workplace.

The Cultural Dimension

It includes the cultural dimension in CSR. In fact, it is the only confederation to
have extended CSR to cover this domain. The line being followed in this respect
highlights the need to maintain cultural diversity (Managerial staff).
Four main topics seem to be essential given the current emerging economies
context: development of the role played by workforce representatives, employ-
ment-related issues (qualifications to hedge against unforeseeable economic
trends), social rights (equity), and working conditions (health, remuneration).
Many other topics are mentioned, but less frequently, depending on the countries’
pay and/or organizations and the progress made in CSR. The main subjects raised
are local development, the environment, governance, chains of production and
outsourcing. A global corporate social responsibility policy, that is centrally man-
aged, is important to acknowledge successes and measurements according to
accepted standards. Central to measuring and communicating these results is the
use of a web-based human resources information system or human resources
management system (HRMS) that is available globally to employees and manag-
ers with any web browser. In order to encourage and maintain a clear and cohesive
global workplace, it is critical for the entire global workforce of a company to be
on a single, multi-functioning HR platform, which allows for distributing a sound
corporate responsibility plan.
There is need to develop suitable devices and attachments to convert their
muscle power to useful mechanical power. Providing them with tools and imple-
ments capable of operating comfortable posture could enhance the productivity
of workers. The tools may be push and pull type weeders, trolley sprayers, and
so on. these mechanical devices generate less fatigue during operation and thus
result in more work output. A man, on an average, spends 65–75 percent of his
working time with manually operated devices. With conventional tools, time
spent using them is high when compared to the amount of work accomplished.
During continuous work, a man can develop horsepower equivalent to about
one-tenth of his own weight (0.5 hp). There is need to improve existing tools and
devices for efficient utilizations of energy. The desirable features of a good hand
tool should be as under:

1. Ergonomic design to enable operator to work in least tiring posture,

2. Lightness of weight of tool for easy transportation,
3. Easy construction and comfortable operation with tool,
128 Journal of Operations and Strategic Planning 1(1)

4. High quality of its components,

5. Low cost and facilities for local production of tools.

The working part of a tool should be designed for efficient performance of a job.
The handle is important as it determines position of worker and method of doing
work. It has been experienced that drudgery and physical exertion are main features
of Indian agriculture, which adversely affect man’s intelligence and ability.

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