Lissy Sunny said the talks had been going on for the past 9 months but without any success
Woman plantation workers attend the strike
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The talks held by the government here on Tuesday with the planters and trade unions on the wage issue in tea estates could not arrive at a solution.
While the trade union representatives stuck to their demand for increasing the daily wages to Rs 500, the plantation owners pointed out that the hike was beyond their paying capacity. Following the failure of talks, the trade unions decided to continue their strike.
Lissy Sunny, leader of Munnar women workers - Pompalai Oruma (Womens Unity)- said that they would also join the agitation from Wednesday. She said the talks had been going on for the past nine months but without any success.
Labour Minister Shibu Baby John told reporters after the meeting that a secretary-level expert panel headed by Additional Chief Secretary Finance K.M. Abraham had been constituted to look into the issues related to the plantation sector.
The panel will meet at the earliest and submit its recommendations to the government. The minister said that the government was trying its best to resolve the issue but it had no powers to take decisions unilaterally. If there is no consensus then the government can only send the matter to the Minimum Wages Advisory Board.
On the next talks, he said the outcome of the PLC meeting and deliberations of the subcommittee would be placed before the cabinet on Wednesday.
The next date for talks would be decided after that. He said the meeting on Tuesday examined all issues, including labour welfare, housing, health care, health insurance and the need for relaxing certain rules. It was not certain whether the expert committee would be able to submit its report before the cabinet on Wednesday.
During the course of the PLC meeting, a section of plantation owners suggested that the hike in wages could be considered if the workers raised the plucking from 21 kg of leaves to 31 kg daily. However, the trade unions rejected the plantation owners’ suggestion for increasing the working hours.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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