The tranquil hills of Kerala’s tea country, Munnar, have slipped into noisy chaos as tea plantation workers of the Kanan Devan Hills Plantation limited (formerly Tata Tea) have intensified their strike demanding wage and bonus increase even as the Government’s efforts to bring the stir to an end are yet to bear fruit. The strike entered the sixth day on Thursday.
Tourism, commercial and trade activities came to a standstill on Thursday in the hill resort, perhaps the hottest tourist destination in the State, as thousands of slogan-shouting workers, most of them women engaged in the job of tealeaf-plucking, brought Munnar town under a siege by thronging the streets and blocking all roads in the region.
As the workers are leading the strike themselves by keeping registered trade unions like the AITUC, CITU and INTUC away from the issue and as more and more workers from the adjoining plantations are joining the stir each passing day, the authorities are worried about the possibility of the situation slipping into a serious law and order problem sooner or later.
Amidst reports about the agitators getting support from certain Tamil Nadu-based groups, the Intelligence wing of the Kerala Police has warned the Government that extremist elements may try to cash in on the situation. This has prompted the police to intensify their observation in Munnar town and the roads leading to the region from Tamil Nadu.
“The situation prevailing in Munnar is an extraordinary one,” said labour Minister Shibu Baby John but workers said they were ready to die for their cause. “We are not putting forward any unjustifiable demand. We are ready to fight till death,” said a worker. Sensing the gravity of the situation, hundreds of police personnel have been deployed in Munnar.
“Tourists who are already here are unable to leave the town and those from outside are unable to enter the area. Also, the movement of the tourists within Munnar has become impossible due to the strike. If the situation prevails for some more days, tourism business will have a huge setback here,” said a spice-chocolate shop owner in Munnar town.
A meeting the State labour Minister convened in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday for finding a solution to the issue ended in a fiasco with the workers holding fast to their demand for hiking the wage from Rs231 to Rs500 per day and 20 percent bonus and the company management refusing to honour it. Talks will now be held in Kochi on Sunday.
According to the Government, the workers’ refusal to let trade unions represent them is causing a huge problem as any settlement could be reached at with registered trade unions only as per the Industrial Disputes Act. Trade union leaders said that they were also of the opinion that the company should soften its stand and honour the workers’ demands.
The management says that it was forced to reduce the workers’ bonus from 20 percent to ten percent due to the falling tea prices and diminishing returns. “We have a crisis. Our revenues fell by nearly 70 percent last year compared to the previous year. The decision to reduce the bonus (from 20 percent to ten percent) was taken in this context,” said a management representative.
The management also claimed that the decision to reduce the workers’ bonus was taken in consultation with the trade unions operating in the plantation. “That is what we are also saying. The union leaders have betrayed us by colluding with the KDHP management. We don’t trust them. This is our war and we will wage it,” said Easwari, a Tamil-origin woman estate worker.
As per records, workers hold 68 percent of the shares of the KDHP company while Tata Tea is keeping 18 percent. However, there are allegations that this ownership structure is only in the records. “There are nearly 14,000 workers under this company. If we are co-owners, how come we are living in such miseryIJ” asks Easwari.