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Malaysian plantation workers: Stop lying to us
Malaysia Kini - November 19, 2009
Oil palm plantation and rubber estate workers today gathered in Parliament angry at Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Bernard Dompok's statement that they were above the poverty line.
"It is a blatant lie and it has been going on for a long time... the fact is misleading and confusing," slammed M Sugumaran, a coordinator for the Plantation Workers Support Group, a subsidiary to labour rights NGO, Jerit.
He said Dompok's statement was in bad faith as it will provide a reason for plantation sector workers to lose the benefits allocated by the government to those earning below official proverty line.
Some 10 plantation workers accompanied by coordinators from Jerit and the support group were present along with Sungai Siput MP Dr D Jeyakumar who is from the Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM).
The plantation workers were angry with Dompok's response in Parliament to a question from Mas Gading BN MP Dr Tiki Lafe on Oct 19.
He had said the net income of an oil palm harvester was about RM1,700 and a rubber tapper's around RM870 a month. "This means that the income level of the workers are higher than the rural poverty line of RM720 a month," Dompok had said.
Apart from their monthly income, the workers also enjoy free facilities provided by their employers, he had added. "These include homes, medical facilities such as clinics and pre-school education for their children," he said.
Sugumaran said that the minister's reply prompted them to immediately arrange meetings with workers from various oil palm plantations and rubber estates in Selangor and Perak.
"The workers were furious that minister said that they are getting more than RM1,000, they said he should have just said we are getting RM3,000 and more," he said.
"Our immediate study has shown that the average wage of a rubber tapper, oil palm fruit cutter and common labourer is lower than RM700 which is well below the poverty line.
Hiding unpleasant reality
"Today we have have clearly shown that the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities is committing a big fraud and they are trying to hide the real problems of the workers living from hand to mouth," said Sugumaran.
Jeyakumar said that most of the rubber estates have been converted to oil palm estates and the fruit cutting activity has been contracted out and those employed are foreign workers.
Therefore, there is high competition between locals and foreigners, as the latter are paid much less, he pointed out.
According to him, the monthly wage of a 'weeder' in oil palm plantations is more or less RM500 a month including an advance of RM80 a month. "So the nett salary of the worker is only about RM420 and not RM1,700," he said.
He warned the ministry to stop twisting the facts, even if they cannot help relieve the workers of their predicament.
Furthermore, the workers demanded that the minister visit the estates and see for himself evidence of their wealth and the availability of the said facilities. "He should come down and see the people who have lived in this condition for the past three to four generations," Sugumaran told reporters.
Convert housing policies to law
Moreover, he said that not even five percent of the housing policy introduced by former premier Abdul Razak Hussein had been implemented in the plantations.
"Even the clinics are not manned by qualified doctors... the clinics are run by dressers. And almost all Tamil-medium schools are only partially aided because the government does not have the will to convert the schools into fully aided schools," said Sugumaran.
Also responding to the recent appeal by Human Resource Minister S Subramaniam to the Malaysian Agricultural Producers Association (Mapa) to create housing funds for estate workers, Sugumaran said:
"The problems of the estate workers can be solved if the employers and the government implement the existing policies.
"Since the Second Malaysia Plan, employers have been asked to implement housing schemes when the plantation sector was to be developed but most employers have not implement the policy. Until now fewer than 59 plantations have implemented the policy," he said.
"It is clear here that employers are not committed to the implementation of housing schemes for their own workers. Then what is the use of the minister asking Mapa to invest these funds?
"Mapa will not execute it. Is it not better for plantation workers that a housing policy be enacted as law that requires companies to implement the practice?" Sugumaran suggested.
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