Workers' representatives allege that tea workers, the majority of whom are adivasi and descendants of colonial-era plantation labour, have been made to work in near-bonded conditions and without the protections of many labour laws. In 2009 a pregnant tea plantation worker at an APPL estate in West Bengal collapsed, allegedly after making a request for maternity leave at the health clinic, leading to protests and a lockout at the estate...As a concerned shareholder TGB continues to support the management of APPL towards improving the living and working conditions of workers. Under the proposed Draft Action Plan, which has been presented to the APPL board for review and approval, TGB will work alongwith IFC to engage a third party to undertake an annual audit and worker perception survey and other improvement measures," TGB said in a statement.