It is interesting that the instinctive reaction of people is to accuse employers of EXPLOITING their workers as if they were victimizing them.
Let us face it, exploitation is not such a bad word. (Victimization is!)
Everyone, including employers, employees, politicians, bureaucrats, and consumers (yeah, that would include you) are trying to exploit each other. Everyone is only interested in their own welfare.
As long as no one is forcing each other, there is no reason to feel so bad for somebody.
You and I don't know the plight of a poor worker who has been starving until he got this work at the tea estate. For him, the Rs 67 daily wage might be a blessing, allowing him to feed his family. Another worker, with better skills than plucking tea leaves, will turn away and find a job that pays better.
Politicians earn their livelihood through bribes, and they exploit the situation by pretending to demand more wage on behalf of the workers. Posing as union leaders they force workers to stop working (if a worker tries to work, he will most likely get beaten up), and get a hefty bribe for agreeing to lower their demands.
Companies try to generate maximum profits by lowering costs and raising revenue. As long as they cannot force workers to work for them at low wages (slavery), the wages will be set by the supply and demand in the labour market.
If you must feel angry at the plight of the workers, don't direct it at the companies. Direct it at the politicians.
Re: Exploitation?
by Your Persona on May 23, 2011 07:24 AM
Because when companies are FORCED by politicians to pay up more (part of it directly to the politicians' pockets), they will compensate for the cost by reducing the number of workers.
The poor workers who were happy to work for Rs 67 will now become unemployed.
If the wages were too high, the employer would shut down the business and take their investment elsewhere, into another business that will serve their self interest better.
Politicians realize that they can pretend to be representing the workers to drum up public sympathy towards the workers.
However, if we look closely at individual workers, we will see that more workers will end up worse off, thanks to the self-interested politicians.
Re: Re: Exploitation?
by Your Persona on May 23, 2011 07:34 AM
And what about you and me? We want employers to cough up more money to pay higher wages so that the "poor" workers are better off.
Why don't we offer to pay Rs 10 more than the label price for Amul butter/milk/paneer? After all, Amul is a cooperative and the more we pay the better off those poor dairy farmers would be.
It is easy to stand up as moral guardians and assume that we know other people's needs and abilities. It would be much better and a lot easier if we looked after our own well being, WITHOUT EVER VIOLATING SOMEONE ELSE'S PROPERTY RIGHT.
And the first step in that direction would be to get rid of the politicians by removing their rights to victimize everyone around them!
We need to enact a law in parliament which stipulates that the INDIAN worker has the right to be paid Rs 180.00 per hour at a minimum.
That should be the wage we need to start with. Also awarness should be created about this among the workers.
There is always a situation in INDIA where the employer and worker will enter into a tacit understanding which will undercut such salaries.
That is why we need Unions, in India, not of the Marxist kind but a different variety which go with a different slogan "Sarvodaya".
We NATIONAL DEMOCRATS of the NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC WORKERS PARTY believe in bringing in such polcies in INDIA.
Where wages paid are transparent and workers at the lowest rung are paid adequately to maintain a decent standards of living and also provide a future for their children.
Such Unions should exist in all sectors and should be lead by educated people who create win-win situations for workers and management and also organize recreation, cultural programs and vacation packages for the workers.
Destroy the Marxist Unions and replace them with "Sarvodaya Unions" which use the Saffron instead of Red color.
Re: We need to set the wages of the INDIAN worker at a minimum.
by Shobhit Acharya on May 23, 2011 06:24 AM
Rs 180 per hr at minimum .. Ok lets see if you can live with this : 1- Your Bai's monthly salary would be : 30*2hrs*180 = Rs 10,800 2- Vegetables that used to cost you Rs 100 at sabzeee mandee would now cost Rs 600-800. 3- Autorickshaw drivers would now charge you 2.5 times more money than current rates. Currently 1 hr in city traffic costs about 100 rs. After this rate, it should cost closer to 250. 4- Due to the base minimum wage, city cleaners or apartment garbage disposal people would now earn 8 hrs * 22 days * 180 = 31,600 rupees. 5- Full time car drivers, nannies etc would now earn a base salary of Rs40,000 excluding gifts, chanda's and diwali bonuses -- the list goes on and on. If this were the norm - you would require Rs 1 Lk per month to maintain the same standard of living. Inflation will go through the roof and eventually 180 rupees would become the same value as 10 rupees. 1 Dollar would be equal to 600 rupees. Do the math .. It sucks isnt it ? Thats the reality of such a high population, mediocre infrastructure and low productivity (70% agricultural land and still shortages).
Re: Re: We need to set the wages of the INDIAN worker at a minimu
by Nirpinder Singh on May 23, 2011 06:29 AM
Just make it reasonable! In Kenya, Lipton hires Tea Pluckers at $4 (Rs180) per day. Each plucker receives free housing, free health care and free education for their children in addition to their wages, all paid for by Lipton. Instead of worrying about having to give up your luxuries try to think of your servants as human beings and treat them likewise!
Re: We need to set the wages of the INDIAN worker at a minimum.
by Vishnu Sharma on May 23, 2011 04:55 AM
For the record, let it be known that 250 Grams of Darjeeling Tea (First Flush) is $ 75 which is equivalent to Rs 3375, Paying the work 1/15th of that amount for every our of work they put in a day is not at all unreasonable.
Re: Re: We need to set the wages of the INDIAN worker at a minimu
by Nirpinder Singh on May 23, 2011 06:25 AM
duh! 1/15 of 3375 works out to 225. The workers are being paid 110 per day, not per hour. They pick 35-45 kg of tea per day, worth around 5 Lakh and 40 thousand, by your figures! No wonder your Tea Estate owners and Managers live in Luxury and the Workers in penury! Work on your Mathematics and inform yourself better!
Re: Re: Re: We need to set the wages of the INDIAN worker at a mi
by Vishnu Sharma on May 23, 2011 07:54 AM
Yes, before you start shouting at me. That is what I meant. The tea workers who pick the leaves need to be paid Rs 225/hour. Since tea-picking is a specialized skill.
The minimum wage in INDIA need to be set at Rs 180 per hour.
Re: We need to set the wages of the INDIAN worker at a minimum.
by Vishnu Sharma on May 23, 2011 05:02 AM
For the record: If you look up List_of_minimum_wages_by_country on google you will notice that even Pakistan pays Rs 7000 a month of minimum wages.
In India, such things are barely taken seriously and no firm law has been enacted to stipulate the minimum wage in INDIA.
Re: Re: We need to set the wages of the INDIAN worker at a minimu
by Your Persona on May 23, 2011 06:33 AM
Sometimes, what appears to be a simple and noble solution could actually be a much worse option.
A minimum wage discourages employment, which in turn will result in greater unemployment and wider chasm between the rich (employed) and the poor (unemployed).
It is perhaps not right to look at only the selling price and state that the workers are underpaid. The companies obviously incur significant expenses in international marketing, sales, and transportation, all of which will take a large chunk out of that $75 for every 250 grams sold.
If workers were willing to work for Rs 67 without coercion, it meant that it was their best choice of employment. If the wage was absolutely unacceptable to each individual worker, each one would have refused that employment, forcing the employer to raise the wages or abandon the business altogether as it would not be financially viable to remain operational.
Now, with higher wages to pay, the employers will contain the added expense by reducing the number of workers.
This will result in fewer people being employed, greater workload, and more people ending up worse off with no income than they were with a Rs 67 salary.
Needless to say, it is not hard to imagine that the union leaders who started by demanding Rs 127 and settled for Rs 90 have had their palms greased.
At the end of the day, the only people who benefit will be those lucky to remain employed (most likely the cronies of union leaders) and the union leaders themselves.
Its dollar vs rupee difference. PPP wise one dollar is equal to one rupee.
so if we are able to produce something cheap and sell it at dollar price, we then seem to be emerging economy.
however, all this growth and the tag called superpower india etc is at the cost of its poor and its poverty who struggles to earn Rs.20 per day itself.
its actual share goes to ambanis/tatas/industrialists etc and to politicians (who for their whimsical decisions like governor recommending dismissal and then horde of MLAs parading at delhi: COST= Rs. 10 crores) and the poor fellow producing it is left to still live in era of 1200 AD.
Re: the so called emerging india-superpower etc is at cost of pov
by Your Persona on May 23, 2011 06:46 AM
Comparing the wage of the poor to the that of the rich is a bit like comparing apples to oranges.
A better method is to compare the current income of the poor to their income 10 years ago (or whatever period makes sense).
Are more people who were living in abject poverty and starvation now able to eat three square meals? Or are more people starving today than they were 10 years ago?
I would voice my opinion about the state of our society based on reliable statistics that answer this question.
One cannot expect people who were living in misery a few years ago to suddenly start driving luxury cars simply because the rich do.
There should be a law fixing minimum wage that an employer has to pay his employees. I am not sure if it is already there. If it is there then either it is being violated by employers or the minimum wage level is too low not reflecting current situation.
Re: Minimum wage
by kuk on May 23, 2011 12:30 AM
we have laws for every damn thing in India but every second person violates them. Minimum wages act covers this. The top guys bend rules for their own advantage and so will the people below. So is the King and hence is the kingdom.
Re: Re: Minimum wage
by Your Persona on May 23, 2011 06:39 AM
Few employers (particularly small business owners) can afford to pay minimum wages. And a lot of poor people are happy to work for less than the minimum wage rather than remain unemployed and starving.
Even if the employers don't solicit, workers will approach them and offer to work illegally for lower wages. (Ever noticed the kind of crowd of people looking for jobs outside factories?)
It is all well and good to say that minimum wage laws must be implemented. While that might benefit a few, a much larger number of people will suffer more.
I have read your article word to word and it is good to see you have spent time to understand the industry, present the same to public at large and voice for the workers.
I had change to work closely in the industry and would like to share some facts with you, unbiased opinion:
1. The total production of Darjeeling industry in season 2010 was
The line "Brewed properly, the Darjeeling tea leaves yield a thin-bodied, light-coloured liquor with a floral aroma and a musky spiciness leading tea connoisseurs to label a variety of the tea as muscatel." is copied from Wikipedia, word to word.
Re: Plagiarism
by Sheetal Kaur on May 20, 2011 12:18 AM
So what where the information comes from. has it reduced blood content in your body by few pints. If not then why are you so worried. Could you do any better.
Re: EVERY DAY WE FIND STORIES ABOUT HOW INDIA
by Bomb Bhole on May 21, 2011 08:15 PM
@such jano.. and you were born out of one such shithole.. didnt you know this truth? ha ha
