India's tea firms urged to act on slave trafficking after girls freed.
Plantations pay below minimum wage, which campaigners say strengthens hand of slavers who take girls as young as 11.
Journalist: Gethin Chamberlain
The video clip above relates to this newspaper article.
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This article is the subject of a legal complaint made on behalf of Tata Global Beverages Limited.
Slave traders took girls as young as 11 from an Indian plantation that supplies tea to Tetley and sold them on to a life of abuse as domestic servants, an investigation has revealed.
The girls were taken from the Nahorani estate in Assam, owned by a consortium that includes Tetley's parent company, Tata Global Beverages, and the World Bank's investment arm. Workers on the estate are paid 94 rupees (91p) a day – barely half the 169 rupee legal minimum wage for Assam. Anti-slavery campaigners say the low wages help traffickers to lure girls away with the promise of a better life elsewhere.
Auditing by the Ethical Tea Partnership, which certifies estates for some of the biggest names in the industry, including Twinings and Mars Drinks, failed to detect the trafficking.
An Observer and Guardian investigation set out to track the traffickers from Assam to the national capital, Delhi. At least 21 people were rescued in a series of raids. The results can be seen in a Guardian Investigations documentary.
Plantations pay below minimum wage, which campaigners say strengthens hand of slavers who take girls as young as 11.
Journalist: Gethin Chamberlain
The video clip above relates to this newspaper article.
Click on this link to read the full article.
This article is the subject of a legal complaint made on behalf of Tata Global Beverages Limited.
Slave traders took girls as young as 11 from an Indian plantation that supplies tea to Tetley and sold them on to a life of abuse as domestic servants, an investigation has revealed.
The girls were taken from the Nahorani estate in Assam, owned by a consortium that includes Tetley's parent company, Tata Global Beverages, and the World Bank's investment arm. Workers on the estate are paid 94 rupees (91p) a day – barely half the 169 rupee legal minimum wage for Assam. Anti-slavery campaigners say the low wages help traffickers to lure girls away with the promise of a better life elsewhere.
Auditing by the Ethical Tea Partnership, which certifies estates for some of the biggest names in the industry, including Twinings and Mars Drinks, failed to detect the trafficking.
An Observer and Guardian investigation set out to track the traffickers from Assam to the national capital, Delhi. At least 21 people were rescued in a series of raids. The results can be seen in a Guardian Investigations documentary.