Thiruvananthapuram: Causing major embarrassment to the government, Association of Planters Kerala has backtracked on the agreement to hike wages of plantation workers maintaining that it was a pre-poll arrangement.
The planters also claimed that the government had assured them tax sops for agreeing to the wage hike but not sanctioned any. The association will raise these matters at Monday's Plantation Labour Committee meeting and would even suggest a staggered implementation. They had already conveyed this to Labour Commissioner in writing.
"As the indecision over the matter continued despite several rounds of talks in October, those from the government insisted on sorting out the issue at any cost before the polls," its chairman C. Vinayaraghavan said.
“We clearly conveyed to them that we would be able to give hike only if the government allowed cuts in taxes and welfare fund contributions. The government had assured that and hence we agreed to the wage hike considering the then political situation.”
Mr. Vinayaraghavan said that in the present situation of price fall, the plantations would not be able to bear this wage structure. Hence, the government should allow concessions as assured.
Otherwise, there was also the option of implementing the hike in a staggered manner over two to three years.
"Implementing this revised wage structure without concessions would naturally lead to the closure of most of the plantations. If the government is adamant on its stand, we are willing to suffer any outcome," he said.
In a bid to justify the association's position, Mr Vinayaraghavan said the revised wage of plantation workers in Assam was only Rs. 170, even as the prices of the yields were much higher there.
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