Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world, behind water, and holds significant economic and cultural significance. While it is only produced in a few regions, it is consumed everywhere. The Fair Pay Foundation aims to deliver at least 3 million tea workers out of extreme poverty by the end of this year, principally through encouraging the adoption of the Fair Pay Charter by governments and companies. The Fair Pay charter is an 8-point pledge that was formally endorsed and signed by the Rt. Hon Patricia Scotland, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth and the Hon. Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, alongside UNITAR’s signature.

United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and UNITAR Executive Director, Mr. Nikhil Seth, highlighted, in his virtual appearance, the inadequacy of existing wages for tea workers, which often fail to break workers and their dependents free from the shackles of poverty.

With this in mind, UNITAR will launch a CIFAL (Centre International de Formation pour les autorités et leaders) affiliated training centre is to be launched in Bangladesh, in close collaboration with the stakeholders of the Fair Pay Foundation, which will serve as an international centre of excellence for training and education of policymakers, business owners, supply chain professionals, and artisans who commit to the endeavour of improving the livelihoods of the most vulnerable peoples in the tea industry. 

The London Tea Exchange and UNITAR will also collaborate on building a series of Model Tea Plantations, which will become global benchmarks when it comes to employee well-being and ethical supply chain management. The first centre is to be built in Bangladesh, with other tea-producing countries, such as Azerbaijan, in the pipeline.

In his endorsement speech, Mayor Khan stated that “a cup of tea makes everything better”. It is our joint position that a cup of tea which is sourced from an alliance committed to eradicating poverty can certainly do so.