The tea producing countries across the world will be observing
International Tea Day on 15 December 2006. Thousands of
tea workers and small growers will march in the city of
Hatton in Sri Lanka where as in Bangladesh the concerns
of tea workers will be voiced through public meetings and
rallies. Other countries where international tea day would
be observed include Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Malawi,
Nepal, Tanzania, Uganda, and Vietnam. In India, all the
four major tea-producing states - West Bengal, Assam, Kerala
and Tamil Nadu - will organise rallies, dharnas, meetings
and seminars. The first International Tea Day was observed
on December 15, 2005.
International tea day is an occasion to proclaim the importance
of tea as a health drink. It also intends to call the attention
of the world to the contribution and plight of the about
10 million tea workers and small growers in the world, who
produce tea for less than minimum wages and for non-remunerative
prices. It says that tea workers and small growers cannot
be denied of basic human rights. It is also an occasion
to publicise best practices in the tea sector.
In continuation to the event, on 17 December 2006, around
10,000 tea workers and small growers from the four tea growing
states will assemble in a public meeting followed by a rally
in Gudallur, Tamil Nadu, demanding 'living wage for workers'
and 'fair price for small growers'. The event will be addressed
by Ministers, MPs, MLAs, representatives of Tea Board and
International Labour Organisation (ILO) and other key stakeholders
in the tea sector.
This year, the call for the observance of the International
Tea Day has been given by, besides others, United Trade
Union Congress (UTUC); Coordination Committee of Tea Plantation
Workers, Jalpaiguri; West Bengal Chai Mazdoor Sabha, (HMS);
All India Federation of Plantation Workers (AITUC), Plantation
Working Class Union (PWCU); United Forum of Small Tea Growers'
Association of West Bengal, All Assam Small Tea Growers
Association; Wayandu Tea Producers Marketing and Processing
Cooperative Society; Small Tea Growers Association, Idukki,
Kerala; CBCI Centre, New Delhi and Centre for Education
and Communication (CEC) New Delhi.
On October 18, 2006, representatives of tea trade unions
and small grower associations' representatives met Jairam
Ramesh, Minister of State for Commerce and Industries, Government
of India, and submitted a memorandum along with the New
Delhi Declaration on the Rights of Workers and Small Growers
in the tea sector. This Declaration was adopted during the
first Tea Day Observance at New Delhi on 15 December 2005.
J John
Centre for Education and Communication, New Delhi
On behalf of the Organising Committee of National Convention,
Gudallur, Tamil Nadu
New Delhi, December 15, 2006
Contact
Address: Centre for Education and Communication
173-A, Khirki Village, Malviya Nagar, New Delhi
Tel: 011 29541848. Mobile: 9868164009
