Collective Agreement (CA)
The Voice of Plantation Working Women Towards
the Collective Agreement
Preamble
Institute of Social Development (ISD), a NGO focusing on the labour issues, and, closely working with plantation trade unions since 1991, used to advocate trade unions from time to time as well as carry out researches on the plantation worker issues in order to capacitate the trade unions, civil societies. In this background, the ISD closely interacts with the trade unions, organizing discussions and seminars to enhance on a Collective Agreement (CA) and on the clauses to be embodied in such a Collective Agreement.
In pursuance of this, the ISD organized a workshop in Hatton on 11th May 2009, inviting the trade unions including those which are signatory to the last CA, on wage and other specific issues faced by the plantation workers. Some women participants referring to women worker’s issues pointed out that in the previous CA, women workers voice had not been adequately represented. Hence, the house, feeling it imperative to collect the responses of the plantation women workers-who represent over 52% of the plantation worker population, requested the ISD accordingly. As per this request the ISD organized residential and district workshops in Nuwara Eliya, Badulla and Kandy districts inviting grassroots women leaders of trade unions and civil society organizations.
The women worker leaders who participated in the workshops raised a number of specific issues relating to women workers both, in the field and factory which included sexual harassment and work norms while highlighting the issue of wage increase.
Based on these issues identified, the ISD wishes to submit the following to the trade unions and Employers Federation of Ceylon in order that they may include suitable clauses in a CA, which will enable the women workers to avail themselves of better and decent working conditions.
Recommendations:
1. Participation of women leaders in Labour Day Discussions
Make women leaders participate in the Labour Day mandatory by granting them leave at 2.00 p.m giving due consideration to their workload and security.
2. Appoint women officers
Appoint women officers in the discussions to entertain women specific grievances and issues, in view of the fact that the women will not find themselves comfortable to divulge certain facts in the presence of superintendent who is a male during the labour discussions.
3. Rest room in the plucking field and factory
Provide full fledged rest rooms for women and men in fields as well as factory with sanitary facilities and also separate toilets for men and women. (In this respect we draw the attention for concerned to a Commission Report of 1975)
4. Engaging women in night shift work
Women workers engaged in factory night shift work, face a number of problems, including sexual harassment and having to work into late night.
Therefore:
a) Where women are engaged in night shifts, the supervisors appointed be female in every working section of the factory.
b) For women engaged in night shifts, there should be rest rooms within the premises itself for them to rest until and after the shift so that their safety and security are ensured. (currently the factory women used to go to the factory at 10.00 p.m or 11.30 p.m)
5. Appointment of female kanganies and supervisors as mandatory
In the previous CA it had been agreed to promote women kanganies and supervisors. However in 80% of the RPCs this has not been implemented. Therefore this appointment be made mandatory.
6. Sunday Holiday mandatory
As per CA where work is offered on a Sunday or any public holiday the wages for such works be at one and half days wage. But generally the workers are induced into working on those days. Therefore Sunday holiday be made mandatory as in other countries. This will on the one hand enable the workers to have a physical rest and on the other, help increase the productivity.
7. Payment of the wages to respective individual workers.
Due to the prevailing practice of one worker’s wage being collected by either the spouse or any other member of the family or one person collecting the wages of several workers, there is a serious problem of trust and cordiality among the family members and workers at large. Therefore the wages of a worker be paid to that respective person as per law and also make it mandatory the payment of wages on the respective division itself.
8. Issue of wage details in advance:
Make issue of wage details to workers at least two days prior to the payment mandatory. In the meantime, in some plantations as the computerized wage details are only in English, the workers are unable to verify the correctness of the details. Therefore, provisions be made for the details to be in both Tamil and Sinhala languages.
9. Daily work hour
A worker who leaves for the field at 7.00 a.m works till 4.30 p.m. And by the time that he/she comes to the evening muster it is almost 5.30 pm, which means that he/she as a rule his in the field far more than 8 hours. Therefore the worker either be paid over time or the work be knocked off at 3.30 pm.
10. Introduce digital scale
The common grievance of the tea plantation pluckers is that there is an anomaly in the weighing system, reasonably attributed to the old weighing scales. The workers are not allowed to know the actual amount of leaves they have plucked by the weighing staff. Therefore the present outdated weighing scales be replaced with digital scales which gives the reading on both sides allowing the pluckers to know the quantity they have pluck.
11. Deductions from plucked tea leaves
At present the deduction from a plucker per shift for tray is 2-3 kgs, which ranges from 4-6 kgs per day depending on the number of shifts. This should be brought down to one kilo per shift.
12. Issue of baskets
The present heavy cane plucking basket with string attached, causes a heavy pain on the head as well as to the back of the plucker. Therefore, it be replaced with light weight back pack basket, issued free of charges as in other tea producer countries.
13. Issue of cotton gloves to pluckers
Make free of charge issue of cotton gloves, apron, hat and gun boots to pluckers mandatory. As regards cotton gloves to pluckers in some tea producing country including Kenya, pluckers wearing cotton gloves do not get their thumb and fingers stained or disfigured of the women. And in the meantime their work is quicker, while the productivity also will increase. In the meantime, as is the case everywhere in Sri Lanka the young girls do not wish to become pluckers for the simple reason that in the process of plucking their fingers and thumb get spoilt. If this system is introduced the plantations which have labour shortage can attract the youth
14. Ambulance services to pregnant mothers and sick workers
a) Although the ambulance vehicles are available in plantations. the services from it to needy pregnant women or sick workers is little or none. Due to the fact that either the vehicles are being used for other purposes by the authority or a convenient excuses for not releasing it being that the crew is not available. Therefore ambulance service to plantation workers be made mandatory.
b) Grant paid leave to pregnant and lactating mothers on days that they have to visit clinic.
15. One hour leave for Feeding Mothers
At present half hour leave is granted to feeding mothers. In case where the field is far away the feeding mothers leaving the field, exhaust the allowed half an hour or more, walking and, by the time they finish feeding and return to the field it is late unavoidably. However they are found fault with for being late. Therefore the time allowed at present be enhanced by another half hour.
16. First Aid Team Training
There have been instances of the workers being bitten by snakes or other reptiles or getting injured by fall or rock bees sting. It is essential that in every division there should be a First Aid team or a person trained in First Aid and armed with the First Aid Kit before the victim could be transported to the hospital. Hence the practice of both First Aid Training and engaging at least one trained person in every field be made mandatory.
17. Awareness for estate staff and employees on Code of Ethics
Make the estate staff and employees aware of the contents of CA and Code of Ethics in order that they may not engage in practices which are in violation of the CA and the social norms.
18. Wage Increase
Taking into consideration of the current cost of living it is unable to serve the basic needs of family per day without Rs.500/- Therefore increase per day Rs.500/-
19. Paid Holiday for International Women’s Day (IWD)
Taking into consideration of the importance of IWD make IWD as paid holiday in order to take part in IWD event
The female Trade Union officers attending the seminar had the following grievances
1) They face harassment in their day to day union activities – arising out of male alcoholism, mainly from the grassroots leaders coming to office, drunk.
2) Though generally the unions struggle for better wages and better living condition of the workers, in some unions the salaries paid to the staff is not adequate and not regularly paid.
3) Even to the salaries they receive fringe benefits such as EPF and ETF are not attached.
4) Some unions do not make female officers permanent even after a longer period in service.
5) Their important grievance was that even the posts of representatives or responsible positions of decision making is strictly confined to male. Their request therefore, is that there be structural changes in the unions so that the women officers as well could be treated in par with their male counter parts for appointments and purposes of decision making. They also request that where trade union education is concerned they too should be given opportunities.
The above issues were complied as a booklet and was sent to the following :
- Employers Federation of Ceylon (For the inclusion of the above demands to the forthcoming Collective Agreement)
- Hon. Athauda Senaviratne, MP, Minister of Labour Relations and Manpower, to make necessary interventions to ensure the demands of the plantation working women in the future Collective Agreement.