Have a cuppa, and spare a thought for tea workers

Human Rights Magazine

The cost of tea for consumers is really low, given the volume of tea that is grown, half of it produced in China by some 80 million people.

But it is workers in places like South Asia that have significant problems, where there is a long history of worker exploitation dating to colonial times. Tea workers throughout the region suffer from widespread child labor, gender discrimination, and wage theft because they are usually low caste and poor.

Throughout South Asia, workers on many plantations say that they can barely afford food, let alone other expenses, while those who run the plantations say their costs have risen too much and that they are not making a profit as it is.

In this episode of Human Rights Magazine, Chloe Friedland discusses the challenges in tea farming with several experts.

Photo: Tea plucker in Sri Lanka’s Western Province. ©ILO/Alan Dow

Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs? You are always welcome to email with your comments.

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