Jerit says plantation industry breeds poverty
Soon Li TsinPublished: Jun 17, 2006 1:03 PM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 10:21 AM
The plantation industry has become a breeding ground for poverty and thus should be closed down altogether, said labour rights coalition Jerit.
The plantation industry has become a breeding ground for poverty and thus should be closed down altogether, said labour rights coalition Jerit.
On average, a rubber tapper makes RM325 a month and is denied a fixed monthly wage, housing, health schemes and basic amenities such as schools, said labour rights activist S Arutchelvan (right).
"If the plantation workers don't get anything out of the industry, why keep it around? It's the end of the plantation era. Just shut the estates down and not make the workers suffer anymore,
"The land instead could be given to the workers and they can develop it themselves like the Felda and Felcra schemes," he said.
'Employed by government'
He argued that it was the government's prerogative to protect the workers and not wrongly blamed private employers for the poor living conditions they face.
"The main shareholders in the large plantation companies are from the public sector and are owned by the government through investment arms such as Permodalan Nasional Berhad and Amanah Saham Nasional. This means the worker's employer is the government," he said.
He was speaking at a press conference after the launch of an exhibition entitled National Development: 150-year sacrifice of estate workers in Central Market, Kuala Lumpur organised by Plantation Worker's Support Committee, Jerit's coalition partner.
One of the major concerns surrounding plantation workers was the low wages received by rubber tappers, said Arutchelvan, who is also Parti Sosialis Malaysia pro tem secretary-general.
Uncertainties
"Unlike normal jobs, a rubber tapper is not paid a monthly wage and they never know how much they will earn," he added.
Arutchelvan asserted that harvesting latex was unlike other crops, because the yield is determined largely by weather.
"They are paid according to how much latex is tapped. If the weather is too hot, the latex dries up too quickly. If it's raining, they cannot tap at all. They are subjected to conditions that are beyond their control," he explained.
The two-day exhibition aims to create awareness on the suffering of the estate workers and to publicise their plight.
On average, a rubber tapper makes RM325 a month and is denied a fixed monthly wage, housing, health schemes and basic amenities such as schools, said labour rights activist S Arutchelvan (right). "If the plantation workers don't get anything out of the industry, why keep it around? It's the end of the plantation era. Just shut the estates down and not make the workers suffer anymore,
"The land instead could be given to the workers and they can develop it themselves like the Felda and Felcra schemes," he said.
'Employed by government'
He argued that it was the government's prerogative to protect the workers and not wrongly blamed private employers for the poor living conditions they face.
"The main shareholders in the large plantation companies are from the public sector and are owned by the government through investment arms such as Permodalan Nasional Berhad and Amanah Saham Nasional. This means the worker's employer is the government," he said. He was speaking at a press conference after the launch of an exhibition entitled National Development: 150-year sacrifice of estate workers in Central Market, Kuala Lumpur organised by Plantation Worker's Support Committee, Jerit's coalition partner.
One of the major concerns surrounding plantation workers was the low wages received by rubber tappers, said Arutchelvan, who is also Parti Sosialis Malaysia pro tem secretary-general.
Uncertainties
"Unlike normal jobs, a rubber tapper is not paid a monthly wage and they never know how much they will earn," he added.
Arutchelvan asserted that harvesting latex was unlike other crops, because the yield is determined largely by weather. "They are paid according to how much latex is tapped. If the weather is too hot, the latex dries up too quickly. If it's raining, they cannot tap at all. They are subjected to conditions that are beyond their control," he explained.
The two-day exhibition aims to create awareness on the suffering of the estate workers and to publicise their plight.
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