Tata hits back at allegations of slavery at Assam plantation
Tata Global Beverages, owners of Tetley supermarket tea brand, responded to allegations that one of its Assam plantations pays workers below minimum wage. A documentary by The Guardian newspaper claims that such conditions have created a breeding ground for the slave trade. Tata pushed back saying that tea pickers' wages are set not by a single plantation, but by an industry-wide wage settlement, involving the government, the workers' union and the tea association. The company also insists that free accommodation and schooling makes up the lower wages and that it has never used that Assam plantation to source tea for any of its brands. The World Bank, a minority investor in the plantation, is currently investigating the on-site working conditions.