‘Horrified’ by plight of Sri Lanka’s plantation workers, says tribunal  

‘Horrified’ by plight of Sri Lanka’s plantation workers, says tribunal  

An international tribunal of prominent judges from the region said it was “horrified by the stark realities” of the lives of Sri Lanka’s tea and rubber plantation workers, after hearing testimonies from workers and trade unions.

Hailing from the island nation’s Malaiyaha Tamil community, tens of thousands of workers are engaged in tea and rubber production. They earn vital foreign exchange for the country that is struggling to rebuild its economy after the dramatic meltdown of 2022.  Last year, Sri Lanka’s revenue from tea exports totalled $1.3 billion, while rubber-based exports fetched $930 million, according to the Export Development Board.

Watch | How the economic crisis has hurt Sri Lanka’s hill country Tamils

However, the workers who toil in the country’s plantations continue to work and live in abysmal conditions. “It has shocked the conscience of the Tribunal that such practices could continue unabated in the modern civilised world,” members said in their findings, echoing concerns that trade unions, local activists, and UN experts have flagged in the past.

Also read: Sri Lanka’s Malaiyaha Tamils living in inhumane, degrading conditions: U.N. expert

Organised by Ceylon Workers Red Flag Union, a trade union based in the island’s central Kandy district, the Tribunal heard eleven workers employed in tea and rubber plantations across central and southern Sri Lanka, as well as three trade union representatives last week.  Testifying before the tribunal — with Justice A.P. Shah from India, Justice P.K. Pawan Kumar Ojha from Nepal and Justice Shiranee Tilakawardane from Sri Lanka as its members — the workers, mostly women, shared the multiple challenges they encounter at work, such as the very demanding targets tied to their daily wage and the absence of basic sanitation facilities. Leech bites and wasp attacks are common, while medical care remains out of reach, more so amid soaring living costs following the country’s crisis. Speaking of her family being forced to ration meals to cut down expenses, a worker employed in tea plantations for over 20 years, said: “Let alone having three meals, I have not been able to afford a cup of tea with milk in years. If at all I can, it is plain tea once in a way.”

In his remarks at the conclusion of the hearing, Justice Shah noted: “they live practically a sub human life, and certainly do not have a life of dignity”.