The Hindu : Kerala News : Plantation strike: talks fail

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Thursday, Sep 16, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Plantation strike: talks fail

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, SEPT. 15. Talks initiated by the Government to end the ongoing strike by the plantation workers in the State failed to fetch the desired result today, with both the estate managements and the trade unions refusing to budge from their declared positions.

The planters, represented by the Association of Planters of Kerala (APK), told the Plantation Labour Committee convened by the Labour Commissioner that they could agree to negotiate the question of wage revision only if the trade unions withdrew the strike launched on September 13. The APK said negotiations could not be conducted "under duress".

The trade unions, on their part, took the stand that since the planters were refusing to discuss wage revision, the Government should exercise its authority and notify a revised wage structure for the plantation workers.

Appeal to trade unions

The Labour Commissioner, S. Srinivasan, who was caught in the crossfire, appealed to the trade unions to call off the strike to give the Government time to use its good offices to settle the issue amicably. The unions said they would get back to the Government after discussing the Labour Commissioner's appeal in their joint action council.

APK plea

In a statement issued after the meeting, the chairman of the APK, A. E. Joseph, said the ongoing strike in the rubber and cardamom estates in the State was totally unjustified and could serve only to plunge the plantation sector into deeper problems.

He said the planters were ready to discuss any issue concerning the industry if the unions would shun their "pressure tactics". He asked them to respond "in a more responsible manner" in the interest of the workers as well as the State.

In another statement, the State general secretary of the CITU, P. K. Gurudasan, said the strike was the direct outcome of the "offensive attitude" of the planters. A wage revision had become due in the plantations two-and-a-half years ago. The joint action council of the unions met here later in the evening and decided to carry on with the strike. At present, only the workers of rubber and cardamom estates are on strike. In a statement issued after its meeting, the action council warned that the strike would spread to the tea and coffee estates too if the planters refused to give up their "adamant attitude".

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