Kerala - Kollam   

KSCDC in the doldrums: MLA

Staff Reporter

`Workers falling prey to illegal systems'

KOLLAM: RSP leader and general secretary of the pro-UTUC All Kerala Cashew Factory Federation A.A. Azeez, MLA, on Wednesday alleged that the public sector Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC) was in the doldrums and that the Government was doing nothing to redeem the situation.

At a press conference here, Mr.Azeez pointed out that there was no move to reopen the cooperative sector Capex, which was remaining closed for a long time.

He said though he belonged to the LDF, he was constrained to state that the cashew sector was facing a crisis as the newly created Cashew Department and the Labour Department were not functioning as expected.

Commission processing

Commission processing had become the order of the day in the industry. Through the illegal commission and the `kudivaruppu' processing systems, cashew workers were being denied their statutory rights and benefits.

Through the legal system of processing, the labour charges would work out to Rs.1,200 for a bag containing 80 kg of raw cashew and the KSCDC was paying that for the workers.

But under the commission system, the same amount of cashew could be processed for Rs.800 and under the kudivaruppu system Rs.350.

He alleged that not only were a section of private processors engaged in this illegal system but also a section of politicians and trade union leaders were involved.

The enforcement wing of the Labour Department was also not functioning in the expected manner.

He said that even though the Government made an allocation of Rs.30 crore in this year's budget for the revival of the KSCDC, no funds had been allocated to the KSCDC so far.

As a result, the KSCDC was not able to function properly, affecting a good number of cashew workers with many falling prey to the illegal processing systems. Gratuity dues in the KSCDC had not been cleared so far.

Federation leaders Philip K. Thomas, P. Prakash Babu and Saji D. Anand were also present at the press conference.

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