VS Achuthanandan, senior CPI(M) leader and Leader of the Opposition in Kerala Assembly, on Monday called on Governor P Sathasivam to seek a special session of the Assembly to discuss the wage hike demand of plantation unions.

Achuthanandan’s meeting with the governor comes a day ahead of the scheduled fifth round of negotiations between the trade unions and the managements of the plantations within the Plantation Labour Committee framework. The talks will be facilitated by the government and several ministers are expected to attend the negotiations to be held at Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.

Leaders of the Left Democratic Front, who met on Sunday to discuss the two-week-old strike by the joint council of organised central unions in the plantation sector, had decided to throw the LDF’s weight behind the strike. They had also decided to seek a special session of the Assembly to find a solution to the strike which has paralysed corporate plantations, especially tea estates, in the State.

The trade unions have been on strike demanding ₹500 as daily wage for the plantation workers. The managements, who have agreed to only raise the wage by ₹25 from the current ₹232, have said they would be forced to shutdown the estates if forced to concede the unions’ demand.

Meanwhile, in Munnar, where the plantation strike is concentrated, heavy rain dampened the spirit of the striking workers on Monday. While all the workers stayed away from work, the rains prevented them from taking out rallies or staging other protests, though the relay hunger strike continued. The Pompilai Orumai union as well as the joint council of trade unions, are pinning their hopes on Tuesday’s talks.

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