Tea Day Observance in India

As the largest tea producer and consumer of tea world, India has taken the lead this year to kick off (initiate) the International Tea Day. In India, The International Tea Day will be preceded by a two day International Tea Conference on December 13th-14th, 2005 in New Delhi at Constitution Club. The delegates from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Vietnam and Tanzania will work on a Universal Declaration of Rights of Tea Workers and Small Tea Growers highlighting resistances against neo liberal policies and corporate led globalisation. On 15 December the declaration of the observance of the International Tea Day will made in a major public function at the Constitution Club, New Delhi. Simultaneously campaign activities will take place throughout the country through demonstrations, dharnas, parchas (pamphlets) and posters distribution and display banners.
Media campaign through press release/ conference/ newspaper articles will be carried out in various parts of the tea growing districts in India, specifically in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

Tea Day Observance in Other Countries

The International Tea Day will also be observed in other tea growing countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Vietnam, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Uganda and Tanzania on December 15, 2005, where the campaign activities will take place through demonstrations, rallies, press releases etc. In Sri Lanka, grass root meetings in the tea estates, International Tea Day meetings in cities, and newspaper advertisements on the International Tea Day will be carried out as part of campaign. Tea consuming countries like Germany, UK, The Netherlands and France are also joining in observing the International Tea Day

Introduction to Tea Day report

Agriculture sector across the world is undergoing a crisis subsequent to the structural rearrangements and deflationary policies of nation states. The tea industry, which is accountable for the livelihood of a major chunk of population in the developing and underdeveloped countries of Asia, Latin America, and Africa, is on the verge of collapse due to crises associated with fall in commodity prices and wages of workers.

World trade in tea is witnessing significant changes under the WTO commodity policies. The structure of the global commodity tea trade under the WTO compulsions provides an absolute advantage to transnational brands and retailers in the trade. Policies by nation states in line with the WTO compulsions such as removal of tariff and import of tea from other countries largely reduce the commodity prices of tea in the producing countries. The industry across the world is also experiencing an extensive restructuring in terms of production organization. This development has been triggered by the interplay of various actors including buyers and brands at the upper end of the value chain.

Therefore, there is an increase in the demand and supply of tea at large despite a fall in the commodity price of tea in all countries. However, the benefits of overproduction in the tea industry are directed more towards the global brands and the intermediaries at the higher end of the value chain.

The ramifications of these crises are multifaceted. The commonly observed micro-level developments together with the macro-level rearrangements in all tea-growing countries are the decline of wages and commodity prices; emergence of small growers; closure and abandonment of large plantations; lower level of organization; absence and curtailment of or non-compliance with existing social security entitlements; and withdrawal of state subsidy for the tea sector. The new segment of small growers, which emerged from the structural rearrangement of the tea sector, and the plantation labourers at the lower level of the chain are the most affected groups of the present crisis.

It is imperative in this milieu to discuss the issues that directly or indirectly affect the small growers and workers in the tea sector. With this objective, the Centre for Education and Communication (CEC), New Delhi, and the Institute of Social Development (ISD), Kandy, Sri Lanka, jointly facilitated an International Tea Conference and International Tea Day with the initiation and active participation of trade unions from India. The conference was coordinated and organized by the Indian Trade Unions with the support of CEC and ISD. The key objective of the conference was to frame a universal declaration on the rights of the tea workers and small growers in order to strengthen advocacy and campaign activities at various levels. Delegates from various countries, namely Bangladesh, Indonesia, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Malawi, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, and Vietnam, participated in the two-day conference on December 13-14, 2005, and the International Tea Day celebration the following day, in New Delhi. There were noteworthy inputs from people from various walks of life comprising academicians, trade union members, people's representatives, activists, small growers, factory owners, and journalists.

For more information please download the report Internation Tea day -December 15,

 

 

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Participants Country Reports Delhi Delaration International Teaday 2006