Rubber plantations reel under labour shortage

Now, a majority of plantation workers come from Tamil Nadu. But these workers are increasingly finding more profitable engagements in construction, roads, small scale industries and in other agricultural activities, compounding the problem for rubber plantations in the state.

A comparatively lower wage structure and inconvenient working condition in plantations are proving to be a major worry for workers. But, labour shortage is a concern only for small and medium scale holdings as big plantations have permanent employees.

The younger generation of rubber planters and labourers is not interested in agriculture and allied sectors. This resulted in Tamil workers stepping in.

But in recent years, they have shifted to other sectors such as construction due to better wages and working condition. While a rubber tapper gets Rs 225-250 daily, it is more than Rs 350 in the construction and related sectors.

As construction industry is booming, there is a shortage of labourers especially for skilled workers in and around Kochi. Skilled workers such as carpenters receive around Rs 10,000 as advance for ensuring regular work at construction sites. Wages for some kind of construction works such as concrete work and basement construction have shot up to Rs 500 per day attracting workers in droves.

The Rubber Board has taken the issue seriously and chalked out various training programmes for ensuring labour supply in plantations. The board has also taken initiatives to encourage women for tapping, but the number is still very small.

Tapping begins at dawn and ends around 9-10 am. Snake bites are common in rubber plantations. Spread of deadly diseases such as chikun gunya took a major toll last year and the supply situation has still not recovered from the last year's blow.

Growers are feeling threatened and expecting the government and the Rubber Board to take initiative in this regard to stem the problem.

According to farmers, daily wages might be increased to a minimum of Rs 300 this year to attract more workers. But only a wage revision will not be a solution to this problem as attitude towards agriculture has to change, said V George, a Kottayam-based rubber planter.