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Links Section
IDSN IMADR HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Tea Plantation People
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Plantation workers arrived from Southern India (mostly from the Tamil Nadu State) at Sri Lanka around 1830.They came as plantation workers seeking for job opportunities and hopping not to be considered as low-caste as they were in India.However, during the British colonial rule these Indian Origin Tamils worked on the plantations as semi slaves. Nowadays, even if they are recognized as free people, their life and work conditions are similar to a modern form of slavery.
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| A Sri Lankan Minority… |
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Indian Origin Tamils represent 5.1% of the Sri Lankan population. Around 60% of them live in the plantation as workers - which represent 80% of the tea plantation workers.
They speak Tamil and are Hindu by religion. They live in the central part of Sri Lanka within a Sinhalese Buddhist population and have remained largely un-integrated with the rest of the population and subject to discrimination. |
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Plantation's children
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In 1948, with the Independence of Sri Lanka, Indian Origin Tamils were not recognized as citizen of this country. Till 2003, after 100 years lived in Sri Lanka they had to be registered to be recognized as a citizen when the rest of the population was citizen by descent. This situation has been solved in 2003 with the Grant of Citizenship to Persons of Indian Origin Act. N 35 of 2003. Today, few deciders express themselves on their behalf and really take their situation into account. Even the Trade Unions are used for political leverage by High caste and leaders do not represent the plantation workers. Plantation people have to pay a subscription to be part of the trade Union but will never have the possibility to be part of the decision process.
The plantation community is economically handicapped and is the poorest community in Sri Lanka.jpg) More than 40 % of the plantation people are living under the poverty rate
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Workers receive 170 Sri Lankan rupees a day (around 1.2 euro) for 08 hours worked and are paid daily. They have no possibility to save money and to buy food in sufficient quantity and quality. Plantation people, especially women, suffer from anemia and other nutritional diseases. They live in line-rooms which belong to the estate. Each line-room is 3m by 3.8m (10 feet by 12 feet) without sanitary facilities and any intimacy. 38% have latrines, 54% water supply, 12% access to electricity. Plantation people have no access to land ownership and decent housing. |
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In order to increase family's livelihood children sometimes work in the plantation or as room boys or waiters in rich families. In these families they cannot go on with their studies and suffer physical and psychological violence. In such cases, the employers don't get any troubles because plantation people ignore the legal actions to pursue, are afraid of the employers' power and don't trust in a partial police. |
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Indian Origin Tamils are also discriminated as far as education is concerned. In 1992, the Urban literacy rate was 92.3% but the plantation one was only 66.1%. Many Plantation schools are not well maintained and lack for permanent teachers; around 20% of the teachers are volunteers. Due to poverty condition and poor education the majority of plantation students have few opportunities for high studies including access to the Universities and the Technical Colleges. Only 5.5% of the Plantation youth become teachers, 4% businessmen and 11% officers.
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In the whole country, to practice medicine, doctors have to passed the Apothecaries Examination and undergone a long apprenticeship in state hospitals. In the estates, Estate Medical Assistants are practicing medicine. They passed only the pharmacists' examination and a test devised by the Sri Lankan medical Council. They underwent apprenticeship in private hospitals without uniform standards. Moreover, Plantation people, especially women, don't go to the day care centers as they risk loosing a day's pay. |
- Lack of food and under nutrition among children and women
Only 0.1% of Plantation people are employed in government services and 0.2% in Provincial Council Services. Even within the plantation, 80% of the supervisory level employment is occupied by Sinhalese. Plantation youth have few job opportunities. Around 40% are unemployed. This situation is getting worse because of the civil war with the LTTE. Tamil people are easily suspected to belong to this movement and to be terrorists. 
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| An International Issue |
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Tea is the main Sri Lankan crop, one of the most drinking drinks all over the world and Ceylon Tea is more than famous. The future and present life condition of tea plantation workers depend on a good which is part of the international market, from which international companies benefit. However the numerous daily consumers totally ignore their situation. In Sri Lanka, plantation people are discriminated as far as educational, economic, social, political and cultural rights are concerned and few have been done against this injustice. For further information about the Tea Plantation workers situation, and Strategies / Programs for social change among Plantation Workers; please contact us. Human Development Organization (HDO), P.O. Box. 171, Kandy 20000, Sri Lanka. Tel: 0094 81 2232217 Fax: 0094 81 2232217 Email: hdo.srilanka@gmail.com |
