Tobacco industry flouts rules, exploits workers, study shows

NEW DELHI - Not only does it represent a serious health hazard, the tobacco industry also exploits its workers by not paying them minimum wages and employing children among its labour force, a study said Wednesday.

The Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI), on the basis of a study in Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, released a report which said the tobacco industry flouts all rules and exploits its workers, in contrast to its claims about economic benefits to the people and the government.

“Bidi companies pay very low wages, as low as Rs.23 per 1,000 bidis rolled, in certain parts of India. Hence, this work is mostly done by women and children. Though child labour is prohibited in India, children continue to work long hours for the tobacco industry,” said Alok Mukhopadhyay, chief executive of VHAI.

The report is titled ‘At the Crossroads of Life and Livelihood: The Economics, Poverty and Working Conditions of People Employed in the Tobacco Industry in India’.

In its key findings, the report said: “Contrary to popular belief, tobacco is not a profitable cash crop. In addition, rising costs of cultivating tobacco, low wages, high risk of crop failure, and exploitation at the hands of middlemen are reasons why marginal tobacco farmers find themselves constantly trapped in poverty and debt.”

Talking about the tendu leaf pluckers (tendu leaves are used for making hand-rolled bidis), the report said: “Their income, apart from being extremely low, involves hours of arduous labour and is very seasonal, lasting just over two months in a year. Most of the tendu pluckers live and work in geographically isolated areas, with barely any infrastructural facilities.”

In its recommendations, the report said the government should initiate an alternate livelihood for tobacco industry workers.

“The alternatives must be designed with a long-term vision so that the benefits extend to the next generation as well, who should not be compelled under any circumstances to go back to their earlier occupation,” it said.

Calling for stronger action by the government, the report said: “The government should stop contradictory policies of tobacco promotion on one hand and tobacco control on the other.”

“Pro-active steps should be taken to discontinue grants for conducting tobacco-related research and current subsidies, and instead provide technical knowledge, seeds and marketing linkages for alternative crops,” it suggested.

Taxation on all forms of chewing and smoking tobacco (raw, bidis, gutka, and cigarettes) should be increased considerably to reduce demand, it added.