The woman tea plantation workers in Kerala’s Munnar hill resort, whose epic struggle for higher bonus had achieved historic victory on Sunday, on Tuesday threatened to launch another agitation if the State Government went back on its promise to hike their wages from the present Rs 232 per day to Rs 500 after labour Minister Shibu Baby John stated that such an increase could lead to the collapse of the State’s plantation sector.
The Minister’s statement came on Tuesday, less than 48 hours after Chief Minister Oommen Chandy promised the workers that a decision to meet their demand for wage hike would be taken at the meeting of the Plantation labour Committee on September 26. On Sunday, the Kanan Devan Hill Plantations ltd (KHDP) in which Tata Tea had considerable stake had agreed to pay 20 percent bonus to the workers following which they had ended their nine-day-long strike.
Stating that meeting the workers’ demand for wage hike would bring the plantation sector to a standstill, Minister Shibu Baby John said, “I am not prepared to make impractical announcements in order to win applauses. As labour Minister, I have to look at the various aspects of the problem before coming to a conclusion.”
Pointing out that the tea sector was going through a crisis currently, Shibu said, “The last time the wages were revised, tea prices had stood at around Rs 125. But that has now fallen to less than Rs 80. All those concerned with the problem should approach the issue with seriousness in order to ensure the sector’s survival. I am very concerned about the situation.”
Shibu’s statement attracted sharp criticisms from various sectors. The Munnar agitation council, under which thousands of woman tea workers had held the nine-day-long agitation, said they stood firm in their demand for Rs 500 as daily wage, adding that they would resume their agitation if a favourable decision was not taken at the meeting PlC meeting on September 26.
Unleashing a scathing attack against the Minister, Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan said that Shibu’s statement was part of a move to sabotage the plantation workers’ wage hike, already promised by the Government. In a statement, he said Shibu, who was putting forth arguments for the sake of the KDHP, was not fit to occupy the post of labour Minister.
“As per the agreement reached at with the workers the other day, the decision is to increase their daily wage to Rs 500. The PlC is set to discuss this on September 26. In this context, a statement coming from the Minister himself that hiking wages would be dangerous is intended at ensuring that the PlC’s decision goes in the company’s favour,” Achuthanandan said.
CPI legislator ES Bijimol, who had participated in the tea plantation workers’ agitation despite their decision to keep politicians and trade unions out of it, termed the Minister’s statement as betrayal. “The Minister should withdraw his statement and apologize. Otherwise, he will face stiff protests,” she said.
As criticisms mounted from various quarters, Minister Shibu Baby John corrected his statement and offered an explanation. “I have never said anything about hiking the wages to Rs 500. My own wish is that the workers should get the maximum possible wages. All I did was to speak with a sense of reality,” he said later.