The history of the labour process in the tea industry, mufindi, 1960s-2000s.

This study examines “The History of the Labour Process in the Tea Industry, Mufindi, 1960s-2000s.” It traces the history of the tea industry in Mufindi district back from the German era to the late 2000s by analysing the main labour processes. Due to severe labour shortage which started in the late 1990s, some sections in the tea industry have been mechanized. The labour shortage has been brought in partly by a ban of labour recruiting from labour supplying districts from the late 2000s and the high costs of production. The high costs of production have forced tea plantations develop labor saving strategies. However, the devices to replace human labour reduced both the quantity and quality of made tea in the tea industry. The low quality is brought in by the inability of the plucking devices to select well the tender shoots of tea leaves. Furthermore, the study develops the reasons behind migrant labourers in the tea industry from Njombe district since its establishment. The culture of the natives of Mufindi district has been exhaustively described with regard to their reluctance to join wage labor in the tea plantations. The study relates the reluctance of the Hehe to join wage labor with their culture and colonial orientation. Moreover, the study shows that the colonial stereotyping that some ethnic groups were lazy and others hardworking was maintained by the labour recruiting authorities after independence by taking the tea industry as a focal study.