Abstract:
The tea industry one of the major supportive sector in Sri Lankan economy. Within
the industry, the plantation sector is considered as a highly labour intensive sector
which requires a regular supply of labour throughout the year and the requirement
is not only for the field operation but also for the manufacturing purpose. However,
the registered labour are moving from the estates over one million upcountry Sri
Lankans are employed in the tea industry. The industry of tea contributes 12.6% of
Sri Lanka’s GDP and 32% of the employments. Displacement of labours from the
Sri Lankan tea sector to other sectors in search of new employment is a major
challenge in the Sri Lankan context. Accordingly, present study the challenges of
recent displacement of labours from the Sri Lankan tea industry is evidenced from
Sudhuwella GND (Hythe Land Estate, Sudhuwella estate, Green land estate, and
Littlevelly estate) in Kandy District. The study based on primary data collection
method through the structured questionnaire survey and Focus Group Discussions
(FGD) were used to obtain qualitative and quantitative information. Based on the
stratified random sampling technique, 100 questionnaires distributed within
displaced labours families and FGD was held within the selected group
(Management level) in Sudhuwella GND. The results clearly showed that 85
percentage of tea plantation labours from the sample of the study, were displaced
due to the ownership changes, decline the interest from tea industry, low monthly
income, the challenge of labour security, poverty, lack of education, expectations
of high lifestyle. The evidence from the study area identified challenges that low
daily wage system, Estate ownerships changes, Cost of living, Lack of facility,
Poverty, Poor health care system, Increased demand for skilled labours, Personal
& social factors, and Lack of labour security. Therefore, this study recommended
some proper strategical suggestions for reducing the recent displacement and their
challenges from the Sri Lankan tea industry and reconstruct the tea industry
sustainably.
