The success or failure of an agitation is measured by the gains the agitators have made. Judging by that yardstick, the Munnar agitation is anything but a runaway success.

To put things in proper perspective, a close look at the so-called gains made by the intrepid women of Munnar, who hogged the limelight for nine days, is necessary. The two principal demands of the women workers were: 20 per cent bonus and a Rs 500 per day wage as against Rs 242 at present. As per the agreement, the actual bonus component comes to only 8.33 per cent, the remaining 11.67 per cent being ex-gratia, which is purely discretionary. The stark reality is that the workers have been badly let down by the Government. Mind you, the management was ready to give 10 per cent bonus! In other words, the workers will have to start bargaining from a lower base while negotiating for bonus next year.

As for the Rs 500 wage hike, all that the Government has done is to take it up at the Plantation Labour Committee(PLC) meeting convened on September 26.

The only success the women of Munnar have achieved is that they have forced the Government to talk to them directly, with the mainstream trade unions taking a back seat at the negotiations.

But, in a show of shocking insensitivity to the workers’ plight, Kerala Labour Minister Shibu Baby John has come out with an outrageous statement that the plantations would come to a standstill if the workers were to be given a daily wage of Rs 500! Of course the minister beat a hasty retreat when his callous remark attracted all-round condemnation. But the damage has been done, and the Government’s stance has left a trail of bitterness.

Enraged by the callous attitude of the Minister, leader of the Opposition, V. S. Achuthanandan has opined that Shibu does not deserve to continue as the Labour Minister. Instead of espousing the workers’ cause vigorously, John was talking the language of the managements, VS alleged. Incidentally, even the KDHP management has not said that they were in no position to give wage hike to the women workers! The Minister’s more-loyal-than-the king attitude has created widespread anger and revulsion. John should hereafter be called Management Minister and not Labour Minister, as a cynic put it. No word of condemnation is too high for the Minister’s unabashedly anti-worker attitude, aver the trade unions.

This being the backdrop, the conclusion that the September 26 talks will be foredoomed to failure can not be resisted. By aggressively articulating a patently pro-management stance, the Labour Minister has only emboldened the KDHP management representatives to harden their stand on the wage hike issue.

The Government still has a chance to make adequate amends. At the September 26 negotiations, it must ensure that justice is done to the workers and that safety, security and welfare measures are institutionalised. Failure to do so would cost the Government, its reputation already in tatters, dear both in political and electoral terms. The UDF would be wiped out in the hilly districts of Idukki and Wayanad if the Government fails to take a pro-worker stand at the negotiations. That is for sure.

The enormity of the Government’s ‘crime’ can be gauged from the fact that at the September 26 negotiations, the over 10,000 women workers who wrought the Munnar miracle will not be represented!! The talks will be attended only by the representatives of KDHP management, Government and the established trade unions! No wonder, the women have warned the Government of an indefinite agitation if the negotiations are not fruitful.

Apart from the intrepid women, the star of the Munnar show was VS. Achuthanandan who was the only politician the workers received enthusiastically. Other CPI(M) leaders like local MLA S Rajendran, who was accused of accepting monetary benefits from the management, were simply shooed away. The workers refused to listen to even CPI(M) state secretary, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan when he came to address them! The rapturous reception VS was accorded shows that he remains the most popular and credible politician acceptable to the workers. No wonder, VS’s popularity has gone up by several notches, post-Munnar. Another offshoot of the agitation is that it has further strengthened VS’s position within the party – a bitter pill for Pinarayi Vijayan to swallow!

In a significant development, the women workers of Munnar have decided to form an all-women trade union. The modalities of the same will be worked out at a meeting on September 20. It will be a women only organization, with no role for the males.

There is nothing wrong in forming an all-women TU. But the women must resist the temptation to annoy the established TUs beyond a point. No matter how strong they are, it simply wont’ help their cause to marginalize the mainstream trade unions like the AITUC, CITU and INTUC. Their support is an essential prerequisite for the fructification of the women’s agitational programme.

Last but not the least, it is time for serious introspection for the established TUs.The TU leadership must lose no time to apply the correctives. They should not take the workers for granted. More important, the TU leadership should not hesitate to throw out the ‘bad eggs’ among the leaders and replace them with leaders whose commitment to the workers’ cause is unimpeachable and who refuse to compromise their integrity to blandishments from wily managements.

Meanwhile, there are ominous signs that the agitational winds will spread to other areas as well. Already, the women workers in estates controlled by the Harrisons Malayalam Limited, have launched an agitation demanding 20 per cent bonus and higher wages. The Government has been forewarned. Will it take steps to prevent the fire from engulfing other areas? Kerala is watching with bated breath.(IPA Service)