Tea is a commodity which virtually every household in Europe regards as a basic necessity, In Britain, we know that the price of tea has remained more or less stable while most other commodity prices have rocketed.
Today, however, because the plight of Ceylon's tea workers has recently been highlighted, more consumers are beginning to realise that this stability is due to the exceedingly low price paid by the estate owners and employers for the labour involved.
LABOUR FORCE
Tea was introduced Io eyOn in the 1860s by the British colonialists when it was found that the climatic and other conditions did not favour the profitable exploitation of coffe plantations.
BuE tacte was one proptem, Inc native Singalese had a long and proud record of resistance to Britain's imperialist predecessors, the Dutch and Portuguese, and could only have been converted into a docile force of plantation labourers at a tremendous cost.
Hence tea would never have (British section of the Fourth International)
97 Caledonian Rd., London N.1.
/ would like more information abour the IMG and its activities NAME ADRESS become the principal crop and the real mainstay of Ceylon's cconomyhad not the British already subjugated the landless poor of India. This meant that they were able to force-march thousands of Tamils trom South India to Ceylon, to toil in slave-like conditions in isolation from the rest of the population.
BRITISH-OWNED
Tea is still Ceylon's largest single foreign exchange carner, accounting for over 60% of foreign exchange carned in 1972, About 30% of Ceylon tea is grown by companics with British connections, and 28% of the tea consumed in Britain comes from Sri Lanka (Ceyion).
British companies-principally Lanhto. Brocke Rond and the CWS subsidiary, the Co-operative Teu Society-are intimately involved in the prowing, marketing and retailing process, A report on the condittons prevalling on British-owned estates -The Stafc of Tea-was recently publisbed by the charity organisation War on Want.
Two points in the summary of the report will suffice to expose the appalling exploitation of these workers:
"HOUSING: Workers live in Labour lines' which are seriously overcrowded, Buildings are not regularly repaired and maintained. Roofs Jok.
There is eo proper sanitation and drains and latrines are blocked.
Building operations, however, are almost at a stanstill because comt panies are trying to make maximun protit at minesum 4035 they have no right to register for employment, no right to collect social benefits of any kind, etc.
2. The repressive laws enacted regime-these invitably and deliberately hit this sector the hardest and victims of the same repression and of the intensified exploitation that it is designed to guarantee.
3. The right-wing bourgeois charscter of the plantation workers leadership-as represented by Thon daman, President of the Caylon Workers Congress (the biggest union of the right wing United National Party (ousted from government by the "United Front' in May 1970), cultural isolation of the plantation ing Ceylonese regard them with distrust and suspicion, and mans prefer to pretend they do not exist. by 'stateless" Tamils for citizenship under the Sirima-Shastri Pact and have been ignored or refused.
ing industry & the largest employer of labour in Sri Lanka, employing over half a million workers (ie 17% of the total labour force). Over 7% the toa estates. Yet 6.2% of estate workers vulneruble to disense, Probein and vitamin deficiency, atactia and inndequately qualified and drug are in short supply. Workers have difficuity in obtaining hospital trestment in the It is very difficult for these workIn their living and working conditions 1. Their total lack of citizenship which means among other things that by Mrs Bandaranaike's 'United Front' also make it exceedingly difficult for any other sections of Ceylonese workers to support them since they too are Led as unemployed.
in Ceylon), and u prominent meber ISOLATION facilities.
Because of the geographical and Tamils, and because of their inferior status, the majority of inhala-speak All roo frequentiy, applications subsequent India-Ceylon agreements The tea growing and manufacturof Ceylon's 13 million people live on Bala Tampoe, General Secretary of the Ceylon Mercantile Union and a leader of the Trotskyist LSSP(R), adresses a recent public rally calling for an end to the repression and the rebuilding of a Left Movement workers are officially unemployed, and the real figure is much higher beauso such a high proportion are "stateless" and therefore not registerWages on the estates are the lowest in the country, and womens wages are the lowest of all. Child labour is widespread, as ate the diseases associated with malnutrition and poor or non-existent sanitation REPRESSION Most of Ceylon is now threatened by mass starvation. But on the tea plantations it is already a grim reality.
The worker there have been worst hit by the general decline in living standards and rise in unemployment.
The wage freeze imposed under the 1971 Emergency Measures is still in force, and every attempt to defend the living standards and right to organise of the masses is met with increasing repression and sabotage.
Today the trude union movement Internationally-and particularly in Britain, because of the direct imperialist connection-can and must back up the tea workers and all the Fictims of repression und capitalst exploitation in Ceylon, This means not only demanding that the Labour Government set up an official enquiry into British company operations in Ceylon; but also pursuing action to force the Bandar anaike regime to end the State of Emergency, repeal all the repressive la ws enacted under it, and release the thousands of political prisoners still held in the prison camps established in 1971 Of course any decisive changes will depend on the successful rebuild ing of a fighting Left Movement in Ceylon. This is a task which the vanguard of the Ceylonese working class has alrendy taken up But right now it needs offective assistance-working class solidarity action, aimed in the first place at rolling back the repression and restoring democratic freedoms. This could malce all the difference in helping to create the conditions for a successful struggle for socialism.
For further information on Ceylen and derads of solidarity actirities ele, contact: Ceyion Solidarity Campaign, 9 Denning ton Park Manzions, London NHd.
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International Marxist Group