Tea is a commodity with a colonial legacy. The British companies initiated its production in what is now Bangladesh. Once it was predominantly an export commodity. But today most of the tea produced in 163 gardens in Bangladesh is consumed locally.
What is least talked about in discussion on tea, its production and increasing consumption is the indentured labor force that keeps the industry alive. More than 150 years back the British companies brought those people from different states of India to work in the tea gardens in the Sylhet region. They were put in what is known as labor lines. They are still confined there and remain deprived and marginalized with no ownership to land and houses that they use. Their wages are very low and they remain completely dependent on their employers. With an overwhelmingly low literacy rate the children of the tea workers are bound to become tea workers in most cases.
"The Story of Tea Workers in Bangladesh" is a book for a wide range of users and actors who want to understand the issues relating to the tea plantation workers and the tea industry. The information, insights, views, practical tips and guidance contained in the book is intended to assist the State and other actors think and act for political and human protection of the tea workers.
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