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APPL Action Plan and Progress Update
The Context
APPL is committed to providing higher standards for living conditions for its workers and their families.
When a number of serious social issues were alleged in the recent past in relation to APPL, our
shareholder Tata Global Beverages (TGB) appointed an independent third party Solidaridad to make an
assessment into the living and working conditions of the workers at the APPL plantations. APPL fully
cooperated with Solidaridad in its independent assessment. Solidaridad presented the report along with
action recommendations to TGB in the month of June, 2014.
Based on a detailed review of findings of the Solidaridad report APPL is now pursuing a phased Action
Plan. Guided by the action plan, an immediate project was constituted to improve living and working
conditions at the 5 plantations in Cluster 1 (Hattigor, Nahorani, Majuli, Lamabari and Hathikuli). Funds
have been allocated for the same and action on a number of areas in the cluster is being executed.
Funding requirements and areas of work for the rest of the clusters have been mapped out. The
following section outlines the action plan developed towards the implementation of the
recommendations. It also provides an update on the progress that has been made so far.
The Action Plan
Action Areas
In line with the recommendations of the Solidaridad assessment, the following areas have been
identified for action under the plan
• Housing
• Conservatories, bathing units and drainage
• Working conditions
• Health and other welfare measures in APPL Estates
• Restructuring of Tata Tea and shareholding
• Review of sustainability standards in APPL
Fund Requirements
Requirement of funds for execution of the action plan are being worked out. Consultations on the
funding proposals are on with APPL shareholders.
Plantation Clusters
As mentioned previously, the 25 plantations have been grouped into 4 clusters based on an assessment
of need and region to optimize the resources and supervision.
• Cluster 1: Hattigor, Nahorani, Majuli, Lamabari and Hathikuli
•
Cluster 2: Rungamuttee, Damdim, Batabari and Nowera Nuddy Tea Estates
•
Cluster 3: Kellyden, Nonoi, Sagmootea, Diffloo, Borjan and Lattakoojan Tea Estates
•
Cluster 4: Teok, Kakajan, Bhelaguri, Powai, Nahortoli, Achabam, Nahorkutia, Namroop, Borhat
and Chubwa Tea Estates
Action Areas and Progress
Sl.
No.
1
a.
b.
Solidaridad Recommendations
Housing
Number of Houses
APPL needs to develop a road
map towards addressing the
5% shortfall of houses
Potential for building double
floored houses needs to be
discussed with stakeholders
who have so far opposed that,
and address the modern times
realities
House repairs
APPL could develop a three
years step-by step action plan
for repairing the houses
Action Plan Response
Status
Construction of new houses and
kitchens will be undertaken to
meet the assessed shortfall
Construction of 12 units of
houses and 191 units of
kitchens completed in cluster
1 plantations. Construction
of the rest of the units is
being taken up in a phased
manner
Discussions in progress with
the Government of Assam.
Potential of double floored
houses will be explored in
consultation with Government
and ACMS
Repair and maintenance works
of the identified houses and
kitchens will be undertaken to
address the shortcomings
Smokeless Chulhas (Ovens) to be
provided to address smokerelated health issues caused by
existing design
Repair works of 5864 units of
houses have been completed
in 2014. The rest of the
houses and kitchens are
being taken up for repair in a
phased manner
2,580 smokeless chulhas
(ovens) have been provided
to worker houses and
hospitals in Hattigor, Majuli
and Nahorani. Provision for
the rest of the families is
being done in a phased
manner
Sl.
No.
Solidaridad Recommendations
APPL should put in place a
management procedure for
housing complaints
The quantum of budget
allocations for repair works
should be reviewed
c
Electricity supply
Individual metering along with
cluster metering should be
implemented across all
plantations
Arrangement of supply of
electricity from government
electricity boards at residential
rates should be facilitated
across the plantations
The user committees set up in
several gardens need to be
engaged and trained on good
practices of energy saving
Action Plan Response
Status
A uniform redressal system has
been implemented in all estates,
wherein every complaint is
logged with a unique number
and actions with time lines are
recorded
Budget allocations for repair
works have been reviewed in
light of enhancement
requirements
Action executed across all the
plantations
Provision of individual electricity
metering will be undertaken
across estates
# Individual metering has
been completed in 18 estates.
Execution in the rest of the
estates has been pursued
with the authorities
APPL will engage with the state
electricity distribution
authorities to facilitate the
process across the plantations
APPL will take measures to
disseminate knowledge about
good practices of energy savings
amongst the worker families
Budget allocations are being
consulted upon with
shareholders for approval
# Memorandum of
understanding (MoU) has
been signed between Worker
Committee, Assam Power
Distribution Company Limited
(APDCL) and estate
management for supply of
electricity
# Billing for worker colonies is
done at rural electrification
rates of Government of
Assam – much below the
industrial rates
Good practices of energy
savings have been discussed
with the user committees as
well as at the EEC meetings
APPL is collaborating with an
NGO to promote use of solar
lanterns amongst the worker
families
Sl.
No.
Solidaridad
Recommendations
Action Plan Response
2
Conservatories, bathing units and drainage
a
Unavailability of latrines
APPL should explore ways to
make provision of the required
number of latrines based on an
audit of requirements
Construction of new latrines will
be undertaken to meet the
assessed shortage
Construction of bathrooms will
be undertaken
Unusable latrine and bathing
units need to be repaired
Repair works of identified
latrines and bathing units will be
undertaken
A sewage cleaning mechanism
will be put in place to ensure
cleaning and maintenance of
septic tanks
b
Technical Flaws
APPL needs to look beyond the
UNICEF’s activities in Water,
Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
and diversify its engagement
with other agencies to address
the issue of technical flaws in
the toilet systems
Initiatives will be taken to
address technical flaws in the
existing type of toilets, in
partnership with specialised
organisations
Status
146 new bio toilets have been
installed. Construction of
latrines planned in the cluster
1 plantations for the year
2014 is 1029 units.
Construction of rest of the
units is being undertaken in a
phased manner
The construction of 90 new
bathrooms in Nahorani,
Hattigor and Majuli has been
completed. Rest of the
bathing enclosures will be
constructed in a phased
manner
2817 units of latrines were
repaired. Repair works of the
rest of the latrines are being
taken up in a phased manner
A sewage cleaning mechanism
has been put in place in the
Cluster 1 estates, cleaning of
sewage tanks has been
completed
Execution of the action in
progress
# Trials with two models of
bio-toilets designed by DRDO
and Stone India are being
conducted
# Engagement with Sulabh
and Caparo groups is ongoing
to determine long term
solutions to sanitation issues
Sl.
No.
c
Solidaridad
Recommendations
Action Plan Response
Status
While cleaning up of the kuccha
(non-cemented) drainage will be
undertaken, construction of
18681
no of pucca (cemented) drains
will be undertaken in a phased
manner
# Cleaning of kuccha drains
has been completed across
the plantations. Construction
of 1314 RFT pucca (cemented)
drains for Hattigor, Majuli and
Nahorani (model lines)
planned for in 2014
We recommend developing a
project with Swatch water filters
around safe drinking water for
tea garden workers
Provision of Tata Swach Water
Filters for families will be made
# The construction of the rest
of the pucca (cemented)
drains is being undertaken in a
phased manner
# 2570 units of Swach Water
Filters have been provided to
all houses in Hattigor, Majuli
and Nahorani, rest of the units
are being provided in a phased
manner
Specialised NGOs could be
engaged to develop awareness
among tea workers and
motivate them to be pro-actively
involved in these issues
Specialised NGOs will be
engaged to execute awareness
building programmes amongst
the tea workers and to motivate
their participation in the
cleanliness drives
Drains
APPL should set targets for
constructing pucca (cemented)
drains in phased manner. Until
that is done, the kuchha (noncemented) drains needs to be
repaired
3
a
Working conditions
Legal wages
APPL is in full compliance with
the law in terms of wages paid
and there are no illegal
deductions. Any change in wage
component requires an industry
wide solution. Hence, we
recommend initiating a multistakeholder dialogue is initiated
that would particularly focus on
value and quality of non-cash
components of wages
APPL will keenly participate in
any multi-stakeholder dialogue
initiated
# Seminar and discussion with
workers titled, “Live well and
Live Healthy,” to be conducted
to identify and address issues
regarding standards of living,
nutrition, etc. in the tea
estates. This is being discussed
with the Assam Branch Indian
Tea Association (ABITA)
Sl.
No.
b
Solidaridad
Recommendations
Status
Formation of Estate Employee
Councils (EECs) in the states will
be revamped. It is targeted that
all Estates will organise
discussions on critical issues
around welfare, health and
sanitation, among others
Action executed across all
plantations
# EECs are revamped with a
participation of all work
segments, 50% Women
members, Union reps, all
management
# Discussions held on estate
performance, community and
worker issues, worker
participation in exploring
solutions, etc. All new
initiatives discussed before
implementation
APPL will explore engagement
with specialised NGOs to
develop awareness and promote
involvement of tea workers to
address issues of urban
migration and trafficking
# TGB is one of the funding
partners of the project
announced recently by UNICEF
and the ETP to improve
opportunities for tens of
thousands of children in tea
communities in Assam and
reduce their vulnerability to
trafficking and abuse. The
three year program will
initially work with 350
communities in over 100
estates in three districts in
Assam
# Adolescent clubs (Muskaan
Club) have been formed at 14
estates of APPL and will be
formed in the remaining
estates by December 2014.
One of these clubs was initially
trained by UNICEF. The trained
volunteers are now training
club members in other estates
on spreading awareness in
the areas of urban migration &
trafficking, child marriage, girl
child education etc.
Unions
APPL could form Estate
Employees Council in each
estate and meet at least once a
month to discuss critical issues
around welfare, health and
sanitation, among others
c
Action Plan Response
Migration of young girls
Information tools like booklet
and/or a video in local language
be developed to provide
knowledge about the work they
are going to do in cities, their
rights, terms and condition, and
most importantly, the difficulties
of living in a mega city. An
association with a NGO to
counsel the youth in tea gardens
would be desirable
Sl.
No.
d
Solidaridad
Recommendations
Personal Protection Equipment
APPL needs to invest in
procuring high quality and yet
locally suitable PPE, which could
be standardised across all
estates.
APPL must come up with a plan
of providing a wash station in
each estate where the PPE could
be washed and workers could
take bath
Duty roster of sprayers is not
rotated at present. This needs to
be done every three months to
avoid continuous exposure to
chemicals
4
Health & other welfare
measures in APPL Estates
a
Doctors
The doctors, especially visiting
doctors, from other estates must
maintain an attendance register
depicting their availability
Together with ABITA and DBITA,
a yearly seminar could be
organised for estate doctors of
different estates. The best-case
practices could be shared in
these meetings. The skills of the
doctors should be enhanced
through special training on
diseases which are common
amongst the estate workers
Action Plan Response
Status
Improved Personal Protection
Equipment (PPE) has been
provided to all the spraying
worker squads along with
provision of wash stations in all
estates. Spraying squads have
been imparted with training on
the importance and use of PPEs
Action executed across all
plantations
# Improved Personal
Protection Equipment (PPE)
has been provided to all the
spraying worker squads along
with provision of wash
stations in all estates
Change in IT payroll system has
been implemented to enforce
mandatory rotation of workers
deployed on spraying operation
to safeguard worker health and
avoid continuous exposure to
plant protection projects
A system to monitor attendance
and visits of estate doctors will
be put in place in the estate
hospitals and other healthcare
facilities
APPL, in partnership with ABITA
and DBITA, to organise annual
seminars for estate doctors on
different estates to enhance
special training on diseases
common to estate workers
# Spraying squads have been
imparted with training on the
importance and use of PPEs
Action executed across all
plantations
Action executed across all
plantations
Action being executed at
regular intervals
# Medical Seminars in
coordination with ABITA &
DBITA for the Estate Doctors
on relevant topics are being
held
# Medical Officers are being
nominated for refresher
trainings
Sl.
No.
b
c
Solidaridad
Recommendations
Action Plan Response
Status
Dependents medical facility
The APPL policy on the
amendment of PLA 2010
pertaining to dependents should
be adequately informed to the
workers through Employee
Councils
The system of providing Medical
Benefits to the dependents of
permanent employees has been
implemented
Action executed across all
plantations
Nutrition
The nutritional deficiency of the
workers in most of the APPL
gardens is visible without
knowledge of medical science.
An immediate solution could be
to help the workers develop the
kitchen gardens
Closer monitoring of worker
nutrition, as well as training of
workers to develop kitchen
gardens, will be conducted to
improve and maintain worker
health
# 40 Child Health Volunteers
have been sent on a special
refresher course on child
nutrition
# New nutrition diet charts for
crèches and hospitals have
been implemented. The
Calorific values have been
revised from 400 KCAL to 700
KCAL. Awareness programmes
at all Estates on relevant
topics are being held
# Project being undertaken
with Solidaridad on a literacy
program for all workers that
would explain the benefits of a
kitchen garden. As part of the
program, knowledge is
imparted on what crops to
grow, the method, timing and
agri practices
Sl.
No.
Solidaridad
Recommendations
Action Plan Response
5
Restructuring of Tata Tea and shareholding
a
There was no evidence of APPL
management forcing or coercing
workers to buy APPL shares.
However, there is a clear need
to further educate workers on
financial literacy to understand
the value of their shares and
how that could help them plan
their life
APPL will undertake financial
literacy programmes across all
plantations
Status
# A Financial Literacy
programme has been
conducted across all tea
estates. Together with Tata
Asset Management Limited
and CRISIL, workers are
educated about the benefits
of savings and investments as
well as about the shareholding
programme
# The share scheme and the
dividend payout were
explained to the worker
shareholders in all the estates
through an interactive session
by APPL HR team
# Format of pay slips has been
modified to clearly indicate
share loan repayments and
dividends earned
# Valuation of the shares to be
conducted following
determination of annual
financial performance, and
shareholders to be informed
of Net Asset Value (NAV) on
an annual basis to increase
investment understanding and
knowledge
Sl.
No.
Solidaridad
Recommendations
Action Plan Response
Measures to be undertaken to
ensure ease of access of the
dividends earned by the
shareholder workers
Status
#A system to enable
consolidated withdrawal and
distribution of dividends at the
estate level is being planned
and designed with a national
bank and an NGO. This will
enhance ease of dividend
withdrawal by shareholding
workers
# Provision of doorstep
banking services through
banking correspondence to
expand banking access to
shareholding workers is being
explored
# To enhance the decision
making powers of the
shareholding workers, a share
exit option is being considered
and placed before APPL board
for consideration
6.
Fisheries
a
In some estates there were
contracts given to workers,
which erroneously used phrases
like “regular temporary
employment in perpetuity”.
Either, these workers are
regularised and made
permanent workers with all
fringe benefits, or they could be
given the government approved
minimum wages for non-tea
agricultural activities
The concerned workers have
been compensated with either
alternate land or by provision of
permanent employment to an
alternate family member
Action executed across all
plantations
Sl.
No.
Solidaridad
Recommendations
Action Plan Response
7
Review of sustainability standards in APPL
a
APPL has invested in getting its
estates verified under Ethical
Tea Partnership standard as well
as SA 8000 standard. We
propose that APPL and TGBL do
a cost-benefit analysis internally
so the value of associating with
these sustainability schemes is
known
A simple, easy to understand
guide is prepared for compliance
for all APPL gardens by way of
integrating different standards
including the trustea
Recommendation being
reviewed
There should be a dedicated
person in APPL focussed on
certification related issues
Recommendation to be
implemented
b
c
1
2
a
b
c
General Recommendations
TGBL could consider setting up
an expert panel of internal as
well as external stakeholders
who could review and feed into
their overall sustainability
strategy in tea
APPL should undertake
measures to address undernutrition amongst the plantation
workers in its plantations
Any development framework to
succeed in the tea plantation will
need to set ambitious targets to
achieve universal access to
water, sanitation and hygiene
TGBL needs to develop its own
sustainability framework that
could be applied across different
commodities and different
suppliers that lay down
Recommendation to be
implemented
The recommendation is being
reviewed by the TGB
management
Nutrition is one of the areas
under the action plan. The
initiatives undertaken by APPL in
this area have been outlined
above
The initiatives being undertaken
in water, sanitation and hygiene
have been outlined in the action
plan above.
The recommendation is being
reviewed by the TGB
management
Status
APPL has developed
standard that integrated
requirements
of
International Standards first time such a tool
designed customised to
Tea Industry
a
the
11
the
was
the
Senior APPL officials have
been assigned to focus on
certification-related issues
Other Welfare Activities
Going beyond the Solidaridad recommendations, there are a number of welfare activities that have been
identified by APPL to be executed as a part of the action plan:
• Mahila Mandal (Women’s Forum) is a platform led by women folk in the worker families that works
towards enhancing awareness amongst the employees on topics related to health care, personal
hygiene, sanitation, cleanliness, savings, alcoholism etc. Mahila Mandals have been reenergized
across all plantations through regular monthly meetings
• Godowns and canteens in the estates have been taken up for renovation
• Renovation of the schools is being undertaken. Measures are been taken to improve the teacher
student ratio towards improvement of the education delivery
• Weekly off and permissible overtime limit has been built into the payroll IT system to ensure proper
HR records are maintained
• Facelift of the healthcare facilities have been undertaken in the Cluster 1 estates. The action will be
extended to cover all other estate hospitals identified for enhancements
• Evening OPD reporting at the Estate hospitals has been extended to 5 pm so that workers get
adequate medical support through the day
• The Creche timing has been extended. New toys have been provided to all creches at Hatigor, Majuli
and Nahorani. The action will be extended to all other plantations
Execution Timeframe
Considering the quantum of fund requirements and diversity of work areas involved, the execution of the
plan across the 4 clusters will be in a phased manner over a period of 5 years.
The Way Forward
APPL intends to extend the execution of the identified action in the remaining 3 clusters through a phased
execution plan. To meet this end, APPL is pursuing the process of getting required approvals from its
shareholders on the action plan and budgeted expenses. A mechanism has been constituted for review of the
progress made in the execution. APPL will update its stakeholders on the progress made at regular intervals
through its website.

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