Chai With A Twist

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In the first week of September, the festering discontent among tea-leaf pickers of the Kanan Devan Hills Plantations (KDHP), saw an explosion of sorts. Over 5,000 women tea-pickers, mostly of Tamil extraction, descended on the main hill town of Munnar (a Kerala tourist destination), disrupting traffic and everyday life. They were demanding a 20 per cent bonus, higher wages of Rs 500 per day and better living conditions.

What was different about the agitation was the group’s outright rejection of all trade unions and political parties and the relegation of the men to the background. The women tea-pickers (incidentally, Mun­nar’s tourism icon in the posters), blocked the town for nine days with a sit-in. The local Devikulam MLA was cha­­sed away and even addresses by a few major political leaders were only reluctantly allowed. Finally, it took the intervention of Kerala CM Oommen Chandy for a settlement to happen with promise of payment of a 20 per cent bonus.

Trouble started brewing when the com­pany declared the minimum possible bonus of 10 per cent, citing declining pro­fits (Rs 5.02 crore in 2014-’15, down from Rs 15.55 crore in 2013-’14). However, the KDHP plantation workers felt they were bearing the brunt of the low prices despite their hard work.

When the agrarian crisis hit the tea ind­­­ustry in the early 2000s, the Tatas exi­ted the management of Tata Tea in ’05 and a new private limited company KDHP was formed. Tata Global holds 28.52 per cent shares now, with the permanent workers (around 11,500) holding 54 per cent. They were given 300 shares each.

Says Sundaravalli, 40, one of the five women who emerged as the leaders of the movem­ent, “When the new company was formed, we were told we had become owners too, but in the last 10 years our lives haven’t improved. Though I got the best picker award, I earn little...if they had paid me correctly then I wouldn’t have to bear such hardship.”

The litany of complaints continued and with TU leaders turning a deaf ear, a confrontation was inevitable. Indeed, one of the enduring slogans during the strike touched on this: “Otta veedu engalakku/sodasu bungalow ungalakku (House of holes for us/ luxury bungalow for you).”

The last straw was when the company declared the minimum bonus on August 22 and the workers decided to go on a go-slow. But the TUs, after a meeting with the management, agreed and asked the workers to accept the bonus and get back to work. There was tremendous anger among the pickers and a meeting of the trade union leaders on September 5 was disrupted. The next day saw larger crowds who destroyed the union offices in the town. As the word spread, the movement gathered momentum and fin­ally police was brought in.

Novelist Sarah Joseph, who’s also the Kerala AAP convenor, says the unions- management collusion is a corollary of globalisation. “In the beginning, the TUs had fought for their rights. What happe­ned in Munnar is historic because the workers rejected the unions and bargai­ned hard for their demands. The people feel the TUs have now become tools of the management, enjoying free housing, spo­nsor­sh­ips, jobs for the children, etc.”

With the strike exposing the unions, leaders have been left scrambling for cover. In the past few days, the CPI and CPI(M) have been “introspecting”. The party trade unions have taken a more rigid stance, fighting off charges of their own irrelevance and even accepting that it was a lesson for them. CPI(M) MLA Tho­mas Isaac says, “We have decided to go with the workers’ demands, disregarding the payment capability of the plantation companies. There will be no compromise on that. Taking into consideration their pitiable living conditions, we have launched a strike in all the plantations. As for the charges, none of the leaders has accepted any housing or favours from the management.”

This somewhat kneejerk reaction has naturally not gone down very well with the plantation managements. Says N. Dharmaraj, president of UPSAI (United Planters Association of South India), “This is a very careless statement bec­ause the plantation industry is already reeling under a crisis. Most companies are running huge losses. These TUs are just trying to redeem loss of face because they have been badly exposed.”

Commenting on the new workers’ gro­ups, Dharmaraj says, “The disintegration of traditional TUs was only expected with the advent of advanced communication systems. In one way, it’ll be good to deal with groups which are not politically motivated. We’ll be able to discuss issues without involving politics.”

J.K. Thomas, MD of Malankara Plant­a­tions, feels the “rigidity” of the political parties and TUs was with an eye on the 2016 assembly polls. “Tea estates were making a loss of Rs 10-20 on the present Rs 232 wages. Anything more will plunge the industry into further crisis. Many companies will have to go for a lock out.”

Meanwhile, the Munnar women strikers are demanding that they too be part of the discussions at the Plantation Labour Committee and that they will not settle for anything less than their demands. This has thrown up new problems because their movement, ‘Pembila Orumai’ (Women’s Unity) is not a registered trade union. Labour minister Shibu Baby John says, “This is not permissible under the act. They have to be a registered body.”

The unorganised sector has seen the emergence of  Penkootu and Asanghatitha Meghala Thozhilali Union (AMTU) fighting for the rights of textile employees and salespeople employed in malls (who are outside the trade unions) since 2009. Says P. Viji, AMTU secretary, “Before we started AMTU, we asked the traditional TUs to support us for basic human rights like toilets for employees but they ref­used asking us to join the unions. The Munnar strike is only an indication of things to come. You will see more women in the forefront of strikes fighting for their rights in Kerala.” With elections coming up next year, Kerala seems to be on strike mode.

By Minu Ittyipe in Munnar

(Minu Ittyipe’s spouse works in the IT department of a plantation major.)