Introduction February 2019) does not go very far, due to inflation and the rising cost of living. Mobilised by social media, many estate workers, and their family members and supporters in Colombo, had vigorously protested for a Rs1,000 base daily wage, starting in October 2018, but their demands fell on deaf ears among union leaders and plantation companies. The disconnect between workers and their supposed representatives in the estate unions points to potential further conflict, or even the formation of new political and economic solidarities. Furthermore, tea estate workers��� working conditions, housing, and medical care on the plantations have not improved significantly in decades. A majority of tea plantation workers are women, and it continues to be one of the few jobs accessible to Upcountry Tamil women born into the plantations. The large numbers of women in the plantation workforce gives it a gendered as well as class and ethnic character. Traditional, patriarchal gender norms persist in the Up-country, as is the case throughout the island, especially involving household chores as a woman’s duty, side by side with long work hours in the plantations. The changing labour dynamics on the plantations and the increased outmigration to urban areas, overseas employment and for education receives considerable attention from contributors to this volume. Few Up-country Tamils want to work on tea plantations, if they have any other options. In recent decades, thousands of Upcountry Tamils have migrated to urban areas, especially Colombo, for work in garment factories and in the informal economy, especially domestic work for women and shop assistants, drivers, and construction labourers for men. Among Colombo elites, the Up-country is renowned as a source, not only for quality tea, but xvii