The Tea Plucker Has Worked 40 Years Without a Single HR Conversation – Why Informal Sector HR Is an Emergency
The Tea Plucker Has Worked 40 Years Without a Single HR Conversation – Why Informal Sector HR Is an Emergency
Introduction
Figure 01: The Tea Plucker
Ever sat down with a warm cup of
Ceylon Tea and wondered about the hands that picked those leaves? Probably not.
That’s the point. Behind every sip is a woman who woke up before sunrise,
walked miles through muddy fields, and plucked leaves for hours- without a job
title, a career conversation, or even a basic safety briefing. After 40 years
of labour, she has never been asked about her goals, her well‑being,
or her safety.
This is not a failure of
government policy alone. It is a fundamental failure of Human Resources as a
profession (De Silva, 2025).
The
Landscape: 67% Invisible
Sri Lanka’s plantation sector is
an economic engine, yet it runs on informal labour. According to the
International Labour Organization (2025), over 67% of Sri Lankan workers are in
informal arrangements – that’s more than 6.7 million people. Most are women,
and most have never had a single structured HR interaction in their entire
working lives (ILO, 2025).
Even today, Tea plantations in
Sri Lanka operate with no systematic recruitment, no internal career paths, no
formal performance appraisals, no job autonomy, and minimal communication. And
yet, these paternalistic systems have somehow survived – but at a
terrible human cost (Bozionelos et al., 2025).
The
Emergency: 40 Years Without HR
YouTube Video 01: Tea Plucking in Sri Lanka
Let’s walk through a typical day.
A tea plucker wakes up before dawn. She cooks, cleans, cares for children, then
walks miles to the estate. She plucks leaves for 8–10 hours under the sun. Then
she returns home to more domestic labour. She has never been asked: “Are you
safe? Do you have any health concerns? Would you like to learn a new skill?”
The ILO (2024) confirmed that the
tea sector suffers from poor safety and health at work, lack of awareness of
fundamental rights, low productivity, and inadequate access to public services.
A 2025 industry report (Gunasekara, 2025) revealed that permanent plantation
workers have collapsed from 400,000 to just 140,000, replaced by contract
labourers who receive no EPF or ETF despite working full‑time hours.
Ask yourself: Would you work 40
years without a single conversation about your growth, your safety, or your
future? That’s not just an HR gap – it’s a moral emergency.
Why HR
Cannot Stay Silent
Some say, “But these aren’t
formal employees.” That excuse is exactly why this is an emergency. The absence
of HR structures is not a justification , it’s the problem.
Recent research by Weerasinghe
(2022) argued that conventional HRM is not enough. What plantations need is a
sustainable HRM model built on knowledge management and human care practices.
Productivity depends on quality of work‑life and quality of life, not just plucking targets.
Without HR intervention, the
sector is collapsing. Young workers are fleeing plantations, creating a severe
labour shortage that threatens Sri Lanka’s tea exports (Mahinda et al., 2024)
HR Must
Walk Into the Fields
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Figure 02: HR Priority Inversion
So, what can we do? HR
professionals cannot limit themselves to air‑conditioned offices and corporate
policies.
Experts are calling for a modern
HRM framework for plantations – one that ensures humane treatment,
respects skill, drives productivity, and creates a fair wage structure (ANRPC, 2023).
This means:
- Job descriptions and skill grading for every
role, from plucker to supervisor.
- Safety training and health monitoring, not
paperwork, but real protection.
- Career pathways, so a young woman can see a
future beyond the same row of tea bushes.
- Transparent, fair wage systems linked to
competence, not just collective bargaining (De Silva, 2025).
While informal employment may be
a reality we have to live with, systems must be put in place to ensure
decent work standards in informal jobs (ILO, 2024). That’s where HR comes in.
Conclusion
The tea plucker has given 40
years of her life to an industry that built this nation’s export economy. She
has never been asked about her goals, her safety, or her well‑being. That is
not just an oversight – it’s an emergency.
HR as a profession has ignored entire industries for too long. It’s time to step off the corporate pedestal and walk into the fields. Because a cup of tea should never come at the cost of a human being’s dignity.
References
- ANRPC (2023) ‘Why Sri Lanka needs an HRM revolution now’. Available at: https://www.anrpc.org/news/why-sri-lanka-needs-an-hrm-revolution-now (Accessed: 18 April 2026).
- Bozionelos N, Karunanayake GP, Bozionelos G, Mukhuty S (2026), "A challenge to the contemporary notion of high-performance work systems? The case of Sri Lankan tea plantations". Personnel Review, Vol. 55 No. 1 pp. 151–174, doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-07-2024-0671
- De Silva, L.I. (2025) ‘Livable wage for deserving competence’, The Island, 5 March. Available at: https://island.lk/livable-wage-for-deserving-competence/ (Accessed: 19 April 2026).
- Gunasekara, S. (2025) ‘Tea plantation sector: Workers still being served a bitter cuppa’, The Morning, 24 August. Available at:https://www.themorning.lk/articles/pAFOIWWttuIWMaTeowse (Accessed: 19 April 2026).
- ILO (2024) ‘Assessment of the realization of the fundamental right to a safe and healthy working environment in the tea sector in Sri Lanka’, International Labour Organization. Available at: https://www.ilo.org/publications/assessment-realization-fundamental-right-safe-and-healthy-working (Accessed: 18 April 2026).
- International Labour Organization (2025) ‘Promoting and building social protection in South Asia: Sri Lanka component’. Available at: https://www.ilo.org/projects-and-partnerships/projects/promoting-and-building-social-protection-south-asia-sri-lanka-component (Accessed: 19 April 2026).
- Mahinda, T.G.N., Esham, M., Rosairo, H.S.R. and Shyamalie, H.W. (2024) Practical strategies for addressing the worker shortages: Insights from Sri Lankan tea plantations. Journal of Food and Agriculture, 17(2), pp. 36–63.
- Weerasinghe, R.N. (2022) ‘Sustainable Human Resource Management (HRM) Practices for Boosting the Worker Productivity in Tea Plantations in Sri Lanka: Validation of a New HRM Model’, Journal of Management Matters, 9(1). doi: 10.4038/jmm.v9i1.52.
The collapse from 400,000 permanent workers to 140,000 is the most striking data point in this post — it shows that the crisis is not static but accelerating. What makes this particularly concerning from an HRM perspective is that contract arrangements which bypass EPF and ETF obligations are not just an ethical failure — they are actively destroying the institutional knowledge base of an entire industry. When experienced pluckers leave and are replaced by short-term contract workers with no development pathway, the quality and productivity losses compound over time in ways that are difficult to recover from. The sustainable HRM model Weerasinghe (2022) proposes is important precisely because it connects worker wellbeing directly to productivity outcomes — making the business case in a language that plantation management cannot easily dismiss. Do you think the threat to Sri Lanka's tea export competitiveness is now serious enough to force the industry into genuine HR reform, or will the response remain reactive?
ReplyDeleteThis is a well-structured post that strongly reflects the realities of the plantation sector in Sri Lanka. The way you highlight the absence of HR practices among tea pluckers clearly shows how a large part of the workforce remains invisible despite contributing significantly to the country’s economy. I particularly appreciate your point that informality should not justify the lack of basic HR support. In the Sri Lankan plantation context, this is especially critical, as many workers still face limited access to safety, career development, and fair employment practices.
ReplyDeleteOverall, this post effectively emphasizes that improving HR practices in the plantation sector is essential not only for employee dignity and wellbeing, but also for the long-term sustainability of the industry.
This is a very thought-provoking discussion that clearly highlights the lifelong dedication of tea plantation workers and the harsh realities they face despite contributing significantly to the country’s economy over decades.
ReplyDeleteHowever, how can HR and policymakers ensure fair compensation, career mobility, and improved living conditions for long-serving plantation workers who have spent their entire lives in this sector?
This is a powerful and emotionally engaging analysis that successfully connects HRM theory with a deeply human reality in Sri Lanka’s plantation sector. The strength of the piece lies in how it highlights the gap between formal HR practices and informal labour systems, supported by credible data and research evidence. The use of narrative makes the issue more relatable, while the call for sustainable HRM provides a clear direction for reform. The argument that HR must extend beyond corporate settings into informal sectors is particularly compelling. Overall, this is a well-balanced and thought-provoking discussion with strong social and managerial relevance.
ReplyDeleteThis is a deeply moving analysis of how the absence of HR structures in Sri Lanka’s tea plantations has created a moral and professional crisis. I appreciate how you’ve highlighted the invisibility of informal workers, the collapse of permanent employment, and the lack of even basic HR conversations over decades. The call for HR professionals to step beyond corporate offices and into the fields is compelling and urgent.
ReplyDeleteHow can HR leaders and policymakers practically integrate sustainable HRM practices into Sri Lanka’s informal plantation sector without overwhelming small estate owners with costs?
The absence of HR practices in Sri Lanka's informal sector which covers plantations creates a significant deficiency in protecting employee rights and maintaining their dignity. Urgent HR intervention is needed to ensure fair treatment, safety, and sustainable workforce development.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very powerful and emotional discussion. Do you think long-term tea pluckers in Sri Lanka are receiving enough recognition and support for their lifelong contribution to the industry, or is their work still undervalued?
ReplyDelete