Tea estates in southern India are hiring temporary workers during peak plucking season and denying these labourers basic rights as required by law, said a report released on Tuesday. A survey of two tea estates inTamil Nadu – both certified by the international nonprofit Rainforest Alliance – found that in 2015, up to half of the workforce were temporary workers, and most were migrants or retirees.<\/p>\n
Focus group discussions and individual interviews with the workers showed the casual labourers did not receive a bonus, contributions for their children’s school fees, a pension fund, cr\u00e8che facilities or other social security benefits given to permanent workers. \u00ab\u00a0Tea workers around the world are facing dangerous and degrading working conditions,\u00a0\u00bb said the report by India-based Global Research and the India Committee of the Netherlands, both non-governmental organisations working on labour and human rights.<\/p>\n