The United Planters of Association of Southern India (UPASI) today said the sector was hit by high cost of production and strikes by employees demanding higher wages among others would only 'destroy the already fragile industry'.
Disapproving the trend of "cohesive tactics" adopted by workers of some estates, the association, however, said it was ready to discuss with the employees and fix 'affordable' wages.
The plantation sector was very much committed to welfare of its workers and families and was employing 3.6 lakh workers in the southern states throughout the year, "providing social security and other amenities", UPASI President Vijayan Rajes said in a statement.
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Expressing his anguish at statements by various cross sections, including government functionaries projecting plantation management as villains exploiting the workers, he said 'baseless allegations' were being made against the sector.
"The distorted version being highlighted is misleading the public to create a sympathy wave forcing the government to take hasty decision," he said.
Plantations were not fly-by night operators and had been providing employment to large number of workers for many generations.
"One of the main reasons for the financial instability of plantation sector is high cost of production on account of social welfare cost thrust upon it," he said.
His statement comes in the backdrop of the nine-day long strike by women tea pluckers of Kanan Devan Hills Plantations Company in Munnar in Kerala, which ended after the company agreeed to their major demands such as wage rise in a marathon discussion chaired by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and protest by workers of four estates of Harrisons Malayalam from today.
The UPASI chief said ironically, government levied additional agricultural Income Tax which was 50 per cent in Kerala compared to 25 per cent levied by Central Government even on multinationals.
He claimed the plantation industry in the south paid one of the highest basic wages of Rs 232 for the workers in Kerala and these wages added with statutory and other benefits works out to Rs 410.72 per day.
Rajes assured that the plantation management was ready to sit with the workers' representatives and the government to negotiate and fix the wages which was affordable to the industry.
"The lawlessness and cohesive tactics adopted by the employees of some estates is a very wrong trend and will completely destroy an already fragile industry," he said appealing to the workers not to precipitate the situation by resorting to agitations.
