Tea Plontation Labour in India plantations. In fact in Dooars there were only 15 households which had more than one permanent worker. In Terai only eight households had more than one permanent worker. The situation was the same in Darjeeling as far as permanent workers were concerned. A temporary worker is employed for less than 180 days in a year and hence the income of such workers, if calculated annually, is half that of 2 permanent worker. The eight workers in Dooars who were working outside their plantations held low paid jobs which were in fact less paying than jobs on the plantations. In general the total household income is not very high, except in some cases in Darjeeling, as we will see when we analyse income levels later. The situation in Darjeeling is somewhat different from Dooars and Terai as the proportion of job-holders outside the gardens is higher. In fact those working outside the gardens are better paid than those working within the garden (as temporary workers). There were 11 households where the husband was in the army, police or a paramilitary organisation or was getting pension from these organisations. The pay in these organisations (and the pension) is considerably higher than the wages of plantation workers. In one of the gardens situated near Darjeeling town some of the household members found employment in the town after completing their education. Income Table 11 gives the income of the household heads and the households, The average monthly income of a worker in the three tea districts is around Rs. 550. Most of the household heads fall in this income group, ­Those with income higher than this are in the supervisory staff or in other occupations such as driver, electrician, ete. OQur data shows that the income of 85 per cent of the household heads is below Rs. 600 per month. There were only two heads—one in Darjeeling and the other in Dooars—whose income was above Rs, 1500 per month. Both were drivers. o The household income ig substantially higher than the income of the heads. Only 15 per cent of the households have income below Rs. 600 per month while 65 per cent have income of over Rs, 1000 per month. However, the picture changes slightly if we look at the three districts separately, Of the 55 households (30 per cent of the sample) 76 Tea Plantation Workers in West Bengal TABLE 11 Monthly Income of Head (H) and of Houéehold (HH) (in Rs.) Below 600 H HH Dooars Terai Darjecling Total 59 13 41 5 55 10 15528 601-800 HHH 6 8 2 9 1 o 917 801-1000 HHH 1001-1500 H HH 6 13 2 27 3 & o 17 2 1 . 38 19 11 19 5 63 1501-2000 H HH 1 7 0 9 1 15 2 31 2000+ H HH 0 6 0 1 0 17 0 24 which have an income of over Rs. 1500 per month, 33 (18 per cent) are in Darjeeling. The comparatively higher income of these households is mainly due to remittances from male members in service outside (army, etc.) or because of extra income from selling milk. Some households breed cows and supply milk to the local cooperative society. Though over half the houscholds in this district have an income of over Rs. 1500 per month, 16 per cent of the households have an income of less than Rs. 600 per month. ’ Most of the households in Dooars (54 per cent) have income which fall between Rs. 800 and Rs. 1500 per month and in Terai 48 per cent ­are in this category. Hence the houschold income in the plantations of Dooars and Terai are at an average substantially lower than that of Darjecling where 52 per cent of the households have an income of over Rs. 1500 per month. ' : When one takes into account that there are 2.4 jobs per household, the average houschold income appears to be very low. Considering the large size of the average houschold, the current household income seems inadequate to meet anything above the minimum needs of the. household.: Savings The main form of savings for plantation workers is the Provident Fund. This is a compulsory form of saving which has legal backing. The Provident Fund comprises of monthly deduction of seven per cent of the worker's wages and the employer contributes a similar amount. 77