Tamil Nadu   

5,000 estate workers stage road blockade

For a better deal: Plantation workers staging a road blockade at Valparai on Sunday.

VALPARAI: Upset at the delay in arriving at a wage settlement for plantation workers in the State, nearly 5,000 estate workers staged a road blockade here on Sunday to demand that the Government fix a wage for them.

The workers took part in the agitation in response to a call given by the Joint Action Committee of various trade unions in the plantation sector.

Congress legislator representing the Valparai constituency Kovai Thangam presided over the agitation.

Traffic on the Valparai-Pollachi highway was paralysed for more than an hour because of the agitation.

Mr. Thangam alleged that wage talks between unions and estate managements had failed as the latter did not want to increase the wages.

He said the managements had been paying the minimum daily wage of Rs.94 in Kerala while extending a meagre Rs.78 a day here. Besides, the workload was more.

“This disparity should go. The managements should come forward to increase the wages enabling the poor workers to lead a decent life in the hill station. Nearly 50,000 residents, mostly plantation workers, had left for the plains to eke out a better living,” he said.

Mr. Thangam wanted the Chief Minister to intervene in this issue to save thousands of poor plantation workers.

“If the managements are not willing to hike the wages, the Government should fix a minimum wage for the plantation industry and take earnest efforts to implement it,” he said.

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