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Effects of COVID-19 on Tea Plantation Workers in India: Issues of Labour Market Institutions

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  • Debdulal Saha

    (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Mohali)

Abstract

This paper discusses the effects of COVID-19-induced pandemic on tea plantation workers during lockdown phases in India. The tea industry, being a labour-intensive, employs around 1.2 million permanent workers who usually reside within the plantations along with their families, making the largest employer in the formal private sector. Drawing from secondary data and narratives from in-depth telephonic interviews with various key informants during and post-lockdown, this study shows that plantation workers faced livelihood crisis due to subsequent lockdowns during both the waves of COVID-19 health crisis. Poor health infrastructure in the tea estates, weak trade union and existing wage determination methods are responsible for livelihood crisis for plantation workers during pandemic. Except state-assisted social assistance benefits in terms of ration, unlike permanent workers of other sectors and industries, regular plantation workers did not even receive compensated wages from the employer during lockdown, following ‘no-wage for no-work’ clause. Ineffective labour market institutions and rigid managementality failed to protect tea plantation workers during the crisis.

Suggested Citation

  • Debdulal Saha, 2024. "Effects of COVID-19 on Tea Plantation Workers in India: Issues of Labour Market Institutions," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 67(1), pages 255-279, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ijlaec:v:67:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s41027-024-00491-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s41027-024-00491-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Santosh Mehrotra & Jajati K. Parida, 2021. "Stalled Structural Change Brings an Employment Crisis in India," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 64(2), pages 281-308, June.
    2. repec:icf:icfjag:v:07:y:2010:i:4:p:50-72 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Blau, Francine D. & Kahn, Lawrence M., 1999. "Institutions and laws in the labor market," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 25, pages 1399-1461, Elsevier.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Tea plantation workers; COVID-19 crisis; Labour market institutions; Livelihood crisis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods
    • J53 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Labor-Management Relations; Industrial Jurisprudence
    • J81 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Working Conditions

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