Labour Insecurity among Tea Plantation Workers in North Bengal: A Multidimensional Assessment

Abstract

Tea plantations have long remained the principal source of livelihood for workers in North Bengal, yet concerns regarding labour vulnerability continue to persist across plantation communities. Drawing on the ILO's multidimensional labour security framework, this study examines the nature and regional variation of labour security among tea plantation workers in the Dooars and Darjeeling regions of North Bengal. The analysis is based on primary data collected from workers' households and assesses labour security across seven dimensions: Economic Security, Employment Security, Income Security, Workplace Security, Health Security, Social Security and Representation Security. Dimension-specific security scores were constructed using normalized indicators and analyzed through descriptive statistics and independent t-tests.

The finding reveals a highly uneven labour security profile among workers of the North Bengal tea plantation region, while Economic Security, Income Security and Employment Security emerged as the most vulnerable dimensions. Significant regional differences were observed in Employment Security, Workplace Security, Health Security and Representation Security , whereas Economic Security, Income Security and Social security showed no statistically significant variation. Importantly, relatively favourable outcomes in certain dimensions were found to coexist with persistent livelihood vulnerabilities. The study argues that estate-based welfare provisions and employment continuity often mask deeper insecurities associated with low wages, poor working conditions, and limited livelihood opportunities. These findings underscore the need for a multidimensional approach to labour welfare and livelihood security in plantation economies.