In order to meet labor demands in Assam tea gardens, those in charge of the gardens hired local Assamese people, though they believed that they were lazy and unreliable. In reality, the people in Assam were paid poorly and had to attend to their land in order to eat, so their lack of commitment to the wage labor that the British capitalists were used to is not a reflection of poor workers, but rather of the unique needs present in Assam. For this reason, the workers at these tea gardens came from around India as indentured servants or migrant labor. Notably, Bengali workers were not an insignificant number of workers, likely due to their proximity. For these non-Assamese workers, however, conditions were not any better than for the Assamese and they lived on small wages [1].

Today, those who cultivate tea in Assam are those who live in the region and either own their own garden or are employed by large tea producing companies. Because the tea producing companies have a significant presence and power in Assam, the conditions have not necessarily improved for the people who perform the bulk of the labor[2][3]. In fact, individuals working for these companies are paid little, especially so when considering the difficulty of the labor. As such, tensions between workers and companies are high. The conditions are somewhat better for workers at gardens that are fair trade certified, though this is far from solving all the economic inequality generated by the industry[2]. Conditions may be better improved by a grassroots movement of farmers who unite to form collectives able to compete with large tea growers while reaping the fruits of their own labor [4].

The value of tea exports for India generally is significant. It is the third largest exporter of tea in the world with an export value of 848 Million dollars annually. Still, it is notable that the country also imports about 50 million dollars worth of tea, which is a sizable amount. What one may gather from this is that while India produces a large amount of tea, it is also a large consumer of it. One might wonder then, is Assam black tea primarily an export product or is it used domestically? In truth, the black tea of Assam is not consumed by the people who grow it, but by those who pay to import it [2]. The people who grow the tea actually consume a cheaper type of tea that is meant to be consumed with sugar and milk [2]. 

In order to ensure that they are able to live without the drastic exploitation of large growers, tea growers may become associates in grower associations or form collectives which are able to leverage their labor and combined economic power to continue making a living even with the pressure of having to compete with large growers. Such groups may also engage in sustainable farming practices that diminish the impact of tea growing on the local environment, for they are able to make their own choices as opposed to detached, profits-focused managers/executives.