The sorrows of Assam's tea children

GUWAHATI: A survey by an international NGO, Save the Children, has brought the problem of child labour in the state's tea gardens to the fore. According to the study, 37% children between the ages of 7 and 17 in the seven tea-growing districts of the state have to work, with more than half of these children having to work for more than 40 hours per week.

The survey, the findings of which were released here on Saturday, encompassed 2283 children in the 7-17 age group from the districts of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sivsagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Sonitpur and Nagaon. Of the children who were found to be engaged in work, 56% were boys, of whom 95% were working in tea gardens.

"The working children normally worked for very long hours, with 65% working for more than 40 hours per week. Even the working conditions were found to be below the satisfactory level - 40% of the children mentioned that there is no toilet at their workplace. More than 60% of the children reported having no separate toilets for boys and girls," the study found.

The study also revealed the hazardous working conditions the children experience. Of the parents working in tea gardens, 17% stated that girls do not feel safe and 72% parents reported that girls were harassed by employers. 26% parents reported their child to have gone missing in tea gardens. 15% parents reported incidents of child trafficking from tea gardens.

Assam state commission for protection of child rights (ASCPCR) chairperson Sunita Changkakati said it is a matter of serious concern that incidents of child trafficking and child marriages are high in tea gardens.

"There is lot more that needs to be done for the welfare of tea garden workers, especially children. In fact, child trafficking from tea gardens is higher than reported, because most of the cases are not reported," Changkakati said.