Kerala - Alappuzha   

Study brings to light plight of women in coir sector

ALAPPUZHA: The shadow of despair that has perennially characterised the coir sector in the State is a matter well-chronicled. Now, a census and survey by the Kochi-based Centre for Socio-economic and Environmental Studies (CSES) has thrown more light on the dismal living conditions of over 1.5 lakh coir workers, particularly the women among them.

The survey, initiated by the State Directorate of Coir Development, covered issues concerning 1,59,986 workers of units in the co-operative and household sectors and manufacturing units in Alappuzha, Kottayam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod.

The focus was on production side, focusing on workers of units engaged mainly in making of fibre, yarn and other coir products.

Women, the survey report says, employed mostly in spinning, pre-loom activities and fibre extraction, constituted 82 per cent of the workforce. But strength apart, little else worked in their favour.

“A mere 12 per cent of women working in the sector earn more than Rs.50 a day. And overall, women earn less than half of what their male counterparts earn. On the other hand, 58 per cent of the male workers earn more than Rs.50 a day,” says N. Ajithkumar of CSES, who led the survey team, indicating that empowerment was still a far cry for women who spin Kerala’s ‘golden yarn’.

Eighty-five per cent of workers were in household units, where work came to a standstill during the monsoon season, meaning an abrupt stop to daily earnings. This is when 44 per cent of the workers have outstanding loans. In fact, limited working days plagued the entire sector, with most units working for less than 200 days a year.

Insufficient demand, low price realisation, inadequacy and high price of raw materials, lack of skilled personnel and health problems were also cited as major issues.

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