NEW DELHI: The World Bank is probing claims of poor wages and conditions for workers at Indian tea plantations that it finances with tea giant Tata Global Beverages, those involved said on Friday.
The bank’s auditors are looking into plantations in northeastern India run by an $87 million partnership between the bank’s private investment branch, Tata, the world’s second largest tea company, and others.
The venture, Amalgamated Plantations Private Limited (AAPL), runs 25 plantations employing 31,000 workers in the states of Assam and some in neighbouring West Bengal.
AAPL confirmed the World Bank’s Compliance Advisor Ombudsman was conducting the probe, following a complaint by rights groups 12 months ago. But it said workers’ wages and conditions complied with all laws.
“Wages are paid as per industry agreements,” AAPL spokesman Kaushik Biswas said in an email.
“Cash wage plus benefits total up to 189 rupees ($3) per man (a) day,” Biswas told AFP.
The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) also said it believed standard industry practices were followed on the plantations.—AFP
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