In a turnaround for a rubber plantation once plagued by allegations of sexual coercion and labor malpractice, new owner Upjit Singh Sachdeva has initiated a series of reforms aimed at improving the working and living conditions for employees at the newly named Jeety Rubber plantation.
Bloomberg Reports: At the Salala plantation, renamed Jeety Rubber by its new owner, some improvements have already been made. Upjit Singh Sachdeva, an Indian businessman who has lived in Liberia for more than two decades, restarted operations there in October.
Since taking over, Sachdeva has renovated the school and begun serving free lunches to workers’ children. He ordered a new ambulance, restocked the medical clinic with drugs and started refurbishing dilapidated worker housing.
He says he eliminated quotas for tappers, implemented a bonus system and changed the status of cup washers. They now get $100 a month — an $85 raise.
Sachdeva will not criticize Socfin’s previous management, but he concedes that changes were needed. “As a new owner, I wanted to uplift from where I picked up,” he says, walking through rows of rubber trees at the plantation in November.
Sachdeva says he isn’t aware of reports of sexual abuse or harassment and hasn’t read Earthworm’s audit or the IFC report, but he says he’s committed to Socfin’s action plan. He plans to leave the “No Sexual Harassment” signs. “Past is past,” Sachdeva says. “I’m prepared to talk about present and future.”
