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Labour Controls, Unfreedom and Perpetuation of Slavery on a Tea Plantation

Shahadat, Khandakar; Uddin, Shahzad

Authors

Khandakar Shahadat

Shahzad Uddin



Abstract

This article examines labour controls in traditional tea plantations in Bangladesh. This study finds how social and economic exclusion through discriminatory labour laws and labour–manager relations rooted in the ‘coolie’ system have built a captive workforce separated from the mainstream workforce. This ultimately produces and reproduces slavery–laden labour controls. An opaque but punitive incentive system, sunset-sunrise working hours, maximum engagement, and the restrictions of promotion to managerial posts are constant reminders of the historically rooted indentured labour system. This article contributes to understanding modern slavery in an organisational context and the obstacles that prevent ‘free’ labourers from walking away from exploitative conditions. Organisational sites such as tea plantations present clear examples of how specific types of labour control restrict freedom of choice and produce ‘willing slaves’.

Citation

Shahadat, K., & Uddin, S. (in press). Labour Controls, Unfreedom and Perpetuation of Slavery on a Tea Plantation. Work, employment & society : a journal of the British Sociological Association, https://doi.org/10.1177/09500170211021567

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 2, 2021
Online Publication Date Jul 23, 2021
Deposit Date Jul 23, 2021
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Work, Employment and Society
Print ISSN 0950-0170
Electronic ISSN 1469-8722
Publisher SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/09500170211021567
Keywords Bangladesh; Labour control; Slavery; Tea plantation; Unfreedom
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3809290

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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0

Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2021.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).





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