Tea Industry in Bangladesh free essay sample

Though our tea industry suffered a serious setback in 1971 but we could succeed in reversing with the help of the government, foreign assistance and hard work of our planters. It is hoping to increase our production to an average of over 1500 Kg per hal in a few years time. We have undertaken measures to improve our quality of tea by extending the area with new varieties of hybrid clone, modernizing factories and improving infrastructure. We now annually produce 60 million Kg of Tea and we hope to increase our production to 90 million Kg in the next 15 years.This paper attempts to devise a strategy to promote effective social dialogues between the tea plantation workers and their employers. It also attempts to determine the practicality of providing social protection to women workers through their own organizations and thereby enhances their labor productivity. Systematic training for the members of the workers organization has proved to be a breakthrough in terms of skill development, consciousness rising, and blossoming of self -confidence. We will write a custom essay sample on Tea Industry in Bangladesh or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Hence, the possibility of providing skill training to the workers, particularly women workers through their organization, has also been explored in this paper. The art of tea cultivation in Bangladesh began over a century and a half ago in the 1840s near the Chittagong Club. The first tea garden to be established was Malnicherra in Sylhet in 1854. Its commercial production began shortly thereafter in 1857. Today, the main tea-growing areas lie to the east of the Ganga-Jumma flood plain in the hill areas bordering Indias Cachar tea-growing district.Most of Bangladesh tea grows at only 80-300 ft. above sea level northeast of Sylhet in the country. During its initial stage, plantation in Bangladesh faced acute shortage of labor. No local workers were willing to do this job since it is very hard and labor intensive. The colonial British Government deployed indentured immigrants to meet this shortage. Tea plantation workers in Bangladesh came mostly from the backward class and tribal areas of central India and regions of Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh.The present work force in the tea plantation sector of Bangladesh is the fourth generation of those indentured immigrants. Indentured immigrants were in fact new forms of bonded labor. Their bonded nature revealed in their geographical confinement within the boundary of the tea estate. For more than a century they were confined within the same geographical boundary; most still are. Tea industry Tea industry is one of the most mature industries in Bangladesh and till today it is bearing its heritage.In Bangladesh tea cultivation began in 1857 and Malnicherra is the first tea garden in Bangladesh. Though globalization and economic liberalization contributed greatly to set up new industries in Bangladesh, a large portion of our national income comes from this industry. In our country huge amount of human resources are involved in the Garments industry and Tea industry. In Sylhet there is large number of T. E. that is why we select T. E. for our study and in this report we will try to cover one T. E from Moulavibazer, and two from Sylhet district and one from the sreemangle.In this report we give emphasis on the present practices of human resources in the some selected T. E of greater Sylhet and through this research we will make us acquainted with the real Human Resource Management operations in the tea garden of Sylhet, Moulavibazer. Some organizations are violating the human rights. Usually violation occurs at the bottom level- labors do not get sufficient wages, compensation, training facility, good working condition, and other facilities. As a result output or productions are not increasing according to expectation and the overall development is being sluggish.The owner, authority, and stakeholder should realize that neglecting the human resources in the work place a sustainable development is not possible. Tea Plantation in Bangladesh Bangladesh produces and exports a large quantity of high quality tea. Most of the tea plantations are situated in the northeastern areas of the country, around Sylhet and Srimongal. Sylhet is situated close to Bangladesh’s border with the Indian states of Meghalaya and Assam. This part of the country is covered by hillocks rising to moderate heights.The rainfall is higher than average, a fact which British tea planters realised in the 18th century to the advantage of tea cultivation. These conditions have provided rich tropical forests with many species of wildlife, scented orange groves and pineapple plantations. It is also the home of Khashia and Monipuri tribals. The waterfalls of Madhab Kunda are another very picturesque place to visit. Jafflong, where the river runs along the border between Bangladesh and India is especially beautiful. On the way there are number of haors or marshy wetlands, which are natural, depressed swamps holding water almost the whole year round.They are home to many fish and thousands of local and migratory birds. Srimongal is about 70 km south of Sylhet. It is ‘the capital of tea. Most of the tea plantations are centered here, which is the main attraction of the region. There is also a Tea Research Institute, which is open to visitors. A high percentage of tribal people add to this areas attraction. The other main attraction is the †Lawachara† forest, only few kilometers away from Srimongal, where you can see Hornbills, White-Browed Gibbons and many other animals. Tea Gardens in Bangladesh The area around Sylhet is traditional tea growing area.The picturesque Surma Valley is covered with terraces of tea gardens and lush green tropical forests. Srimangal is known as the tea capital of Bangladesh and for miles around one can see the green carpet of tea gardens on the hill slopes. The area has over 150 tea gardens including three of the largest tea gardens in the world both in area and production. Nearly 300,000 workers are employed on the tea estates of which over 75% are women. Employers prefer to engage women for plucking tea leaves since they do a better job and are paid less than the men.A visit to the tea plantation in Sylhet is a memorable experience. The gardens are relics from the days of the British Raj. The plantations were started by the British and the manager still live in white timber homes as they did in those days. The bungalows stand on huge beautifully maintained lawns and the service and lifestyle is pretty much unchanged. A relatively new area that has come under tea cultivation is the sub-Himalayan terrain of Panchagarh. The soil and climate is highly favorable for growing tea here. In fact this area is contiguous with Assam nd Bengal in India where tea has been grown for decades. Beginning with only 300 acres of land in 2000, the cash crop is now being cultivated on over 3,500 acres in Tentulia, Sadar and Atoari upazilas of Panchagarh. It can be expanded to ultimately cover about 60,000 acres. The humus content in the soil here is more than in the traditional tea-growing areas of Sylhet. The tea produced in Panchagarh is supposedly much better in quality than that of Sylhet. Several nurseries have been set up in Panchagarh and Thakurgaon to supply high quality saplings to the tea gardens.