Investing in People: Social Welfare and Labour Productivity in Sri Lanka’s Plantation Sector

This study examines the relationships between social welfare programs and productivity on Sri Lanka’s tea estates. Using both qualitative methods that inquire into stakeholder perceptions of the relationships between social welfare and productivity, and quantitative analysis of the factors that drive productivity, the report asks whether social welfare programs can be ‘win-win’. The findings should be of interest to policymakers, unionists, tea estate management, civil society, and other groups working to improve the livelihoods of Sri Lanka’s plantations communities.