Tata Tea project fails to protect Indian workers
A World Bank investigation into a tea plantation project in India that it jointly finances with tea giant Tata Global Beverages has found that it has failed to tackle alleged abuses of impoverished workers, the group said on November 9. The International Finance Corporation—a member of the World Bank Group—said its accountability office began a probe into the project, run by Amalgamated Plantations Private Limited, after reports tea pickers were being exploited. In a statement emailed to the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the IFC said it welcomed the investigation by the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman and would work towards improving conditions for workers in plantations in India’s Assam state. “IFC is continually working with APPL in its ongoing programme of improving living and working conditions and will continue to collaborate with the CAO on the next steps, post-audit,” it said.
