Vandiperiyar’s seven tea gardens face threats of closure

Tea gardens in Injikadu on Vandiperiyar Mountain. According to the workers, no harvest has been made. |Picture source: Special arrangement

Seven tea gardens under the Poabs Group of Vandiperiyar face the threat of closure.

According to the workers, management has failed to provide wages and benefits to employees of Pambanar, Granby, Munjamullay (Manjumala), Nellikai, Nellikai, Thengakal, Ingikadu and Pasumallay (Pashumala) estates in the past five months.

According to plantation leaders, the seven estates cover a total of 1,440 hectares of land. The estate has 1,400 workers, including 1,100 permanent workers. Since December, they have received no salary or other benefits.

Workers suspect the estate is facing closure. According to them, the POABS Group took over the estate in 2008 after closing in 2000. No harvest has been achieved at the moment.

Trouble for traders

According to the suppliers here, Vandiperiyar is mainly determined by the planters. Traders here are also in trouble due to wage issues in the estate.

Historical records indicate that these tea gardens in Vandiperiyar were established by British growers in the early stages of the plantation industry.

Kerala Plantations Union (INTUC) Secretary General Shaji Pynadathu said negotiations were held with Labor Minister V. Sivankutty on April 25. “However, the discussions on management’s reluctance to ensure salary failed,” he said. “The unions and workers of the Plantation Union have since decided to collect tea from the estate and sell it themselves, which forced management to force management. So far, they have promised to pay a month’s salary within a week. The Ministry of Labor and the government have failed to intervene in the worker’s issue of hundreds of people,” Mr Pynadathu added. ”

Influence life

Bindu Velayudhan, a worker at the Puthukkad branch under Pasumallay Estate, said delays in paying wages have caused difficulties in daily life. “We live in real estate (cluster houses), and plantation work is the only source of income for our family. I have been working on the estate for the past 33 years,” said Ms Velayudhan.

“The revenue of the seven estates is not enough to manage their daily expenses. The company lost Rs 20 crore per year while managing the estates and shifted its profits from its sisters’ concerns to paying for administrative expenses,” a source at the Poabs Group said.

“In the current situation, the company is working hard to manage the estate. While the average tea production in Monar is 3,300 kg per hectare, at Vandiperiyar, there are only 1,200 kg per hectare. Without government support, management cannot operate the estate,” the source said.