Tata, The World Bank and Enduring Abuses on India’s Tea Plantations
Press Club of India
Raisana Road, New Delhi
16 April 2014 at 3 PM
Release of a report by Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute & discussion with key activists
 
In 2005, the Tata Group decided to get out of the business of owning and operating its tea plantations in Assam and West Bengal. Tata Tea became Tata Global Beverages, a company focused on branding and retail.
 
But what became of the 31,000 workers on the plantations? In divesting from the plantations, Tata had partnered with the World Bank, which invested $7.8 million in a “development project” that was supposed to empower workers and create new jobs.
 
The report, (http://web.law.columbia.edu/human-rights-institute/initiatives/global-economy/teaplantations/more-things-change) released after over 3 years of research, finds that the “development project” has, in many ways, made life harder for the tea plantation workers. The research also found gross violations of Indian law, throughout the former Tata plantations. The report raises important questions about Tata’s responsibility for the abuses at its plantations. It also looks at the future of India’s tea plantations, which employ more than 1.5 million people.
 
Press conference held at the Press Club of India, on Wednesday, 16 April 2014, at 3 PM.
 
Speakers include:
 
·         Peter Rosenblum, co-author, Professor of Human Rights Law (prosenbl@bard.edu)
·          Ashwini Sukthankar, co-author (ashwini@post.harvard.edu)
·         Wilfred Topno, Secretary, People’s Action for Development, Assam (wiltopno@gmail.com)
·         Jayshree Satpute, Human Rights Lawyer & Founder of  Nazdeek (jayshreesatpute@nazdeek.org)
 

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