Women Tea Plantation Workers of North Bengal and the Politics of Wages and Other Entitlements

Abstract

This paper makes an attempt to look into the politics behind the prevalence of low wages of workers in the tea industry of West Bengal where women workers have been preponderant numerically almost since its inception during the colonial era. In its attempt to do so, the paper has delved into the role of the state, planters' associations and trade unions in locating the reasons behind the existence of almost starvation level of wages in this industry where women have been the primary wage earners.