The Hindu Business Line : Upasi wants plantations off Minimum Wages Act

Coonoor, Sept 9 Aggrieved over the way some of the State Governments have gone implementing the minimum wages fixing machinery, the plantation industry on Tuesday urged the Centre to delete the sector from the Minimum Wages Act.

“The State Governments are acting as if they are concerned about the ground realities of an open economy. Indian plantation sector has the disadvantage of a much higher cost on account of various statutory social costs it is bearing compared to other producing countries and we are losing some of our important export markets. It is, therefore, necessary that the Centre come to the rescue of this industry, particularly since coffee, tea, rubber and cardamom are centrally-controlled industries under Central Plantations Act,” said Mr D.P. Maheswari, President of the United Planters’ Association of Southern India, on the sidelines of addressing the 115th annual conference.

“The reason for enacting the Minimum Wages Act was the Minimum Wage Fixing Machinery Conventions of the International Labour Organisation.

“According to these conventions, minimum wages were to be fixed in industries in which no arrangements exist for the effective regulation of wages by collective agreements or otherwise and wages are exceptionally low,” he said.

In view of the collective bargaining power “supported and supplemented” by the Industrial Disputes Machinery of the workers, there was no longer any reason for continued use of the Minimum Wages Act in the plantation sector, Mr Maheswari said.

‘Deschedule plantations’

Stating that “de-scheduling” plantations from the Act was the sector’s primary request, he said the Centre should exercise a degree of control and achieve a modicum of uniformity of approach over revision of minimum wages by the States.

Reasons behind deletion

Two recent developments have forced the plantation sector to come out so strongly with this message.

In the first instance, Kerala forced employers to agree to a “negotiated settlement” of paying Rs 115 a day for workers in coffee and tea plantations.

Threat of unions’ strike and the State’s stand that breakdown of law could not be allowed, forced the employers to agree to the “settlement.”

The State had also attempted to extend the Act to white collar employees in clerical, supervisory and technical cadre despite minimum wages not being fixed for them in the last 60 years. The move has been stayed by the Kerala High Court.

In the other instance, Tamil Nadu issued a notification on a Sunday revising the minimum wages for the plantation sector to Rs 101.52, allegedly to indirectly settle a wage dispute in one of the districts between unions and planters. The issue was taken up by the Commerce Ministry with the State, which replied that it was trying to fix a wage closer to that of Kerala.

Calling for Consensus

Mr Maheswari said the Centre should call for a meeting of governments of plantation States to discuss the issue and evolve a consensus.

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