Sri Lanka's tea pickers are the backbone of the country's multi-billion-dollar Ceylon tea industry. Primarily Malaiyaha (Up-country) Tamil women whose ancestors were brought from India by the British, these workers endure physically grueling, labor-intensive conditions for remarkably low pay despite the global prestige of the product.
Profile of the Workforce
- Demographics: The industry employs roughly 700,000 laborers, with more than 50% being women. .
- Heritage: They belong to the Malaiyaha Tamil community, whose ancestors were brought over by British colonial authorities in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
- Location: Most work in the central, misty highlands and mountainous regions, with dense populations concentrated around Nuwara Eliya and Ella.
The Plucking Process
- Manual Harvesting: To maintain the premium quality of Ceylon tea, the youngest, most tender "two leaves and a bud" must be hand-picked.
- Daily Quotas: Workers are expected to meet strict daily quotas, typically between 18 kg and 20 kg per day.
- Hours: The grueling work takes place across morning and afternoon shifts, often in harsh weather and amidst leeches and insects, before the leaves are weighed and sent to factories for withering.
Economic and Living Conditions
- Wages: Daily wages are low and highly dependent on meeting these strict daily quotas. While government boards set base rates (with recent adjustments reaching roughly 1,750 rupees per day), soaring inflation and attendance-based conditions frequently erode their actual earnings.
- Housing: Many workers reside in isolated, British colonial-era "line-houses". These cramped, multi-family barracks are usually owned by plantation companies and often lack basic amenities like running water, electricity, and adequate sanitation.
- Social Conditions: These communities frequently face structural discrimination and poverty, resulting in many younger generations leaving the plantations for urban areas or overseas work.
