PLANTATION WORKERS IN KERALA: AN INTRA-SECTOR ANALYSIS BASED ON STANDARD OF LIVING AND QUALITY OF LIFE

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1 International Journal of Economic Issues, Vol. 7, No. 2 (July-December, 2014) : International Science Press PLANTATION WORKERS IN KERALA: AN INTRA-SECTOR ANALYSIS BASED ON STANDARD OF LIVING AND QUALITY OF LIFE D. RAJASENAN 1 AND RAJESH R. 1 Director, Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy (CSSEIP) Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), Kochi , Kerala, India rajasenan@gmail.com, rajasenan@cusat.ac.in 2 Research Scholar, Department of Applied Economics, Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), Kochi, Kerala, India, rajeshrrajagopal@gmail.com The article appraises the quality of life and standard of living of workers employed in the rubber and spice plantations of Kerala. 300 samples from three plantation subsectors were collected, based on stratified random sampling method, and had been subjected to intra-sector comparisons for understanding the differences, if any, in quality of life and standard of living. As workers in the plantation sector have been employed in these plantations for several generations the wretched state of this sector has made their life literally dismal. Insecure working conditions make them socially as well as financially weak, which automatically exclude them from the social strata. While comparing the livelihood of workers in the two commodity sectors, i.e. rubber and spices, it is clear that the problem of decent livelihood is more perennial and severe in case of spice plantation workers. Keywords: standard of living, livelihood, quality of life, plantation labour, social exclusion INTRODUCTION Kerala, with a population of less than 34 million, is the most advanced state in India in terms of social development indicators. This makes Kerala eligible enough to be compared with some of the developed countries in the world. Kerala s industrial and agricultural base is quite low. Though the agricultural economy of the state is weak, the plantation sub-sectors such as tea, coffee, rubber and spices form the key players in the agrarian economy. The area under plantation crops showed an increase from onwards and its total change has come to about 128 per cent for the last 37 years. Out of the total area of 6.75 lakh ha under plantation crops during , rubber tops with 80.0 per cent, and the rest 20.0 per cent is in use by tea and spices (Agricultural Statistics, 2013). The Kottayam district is the topper in the state with respect to rubber production, whereas the Wayanad and Idukki districts emerge out as the champions in terms of spice production. Plantation sector in Kerala acts as the

2 208 / D. RAJASENAN AND RAJESH R. linchpin in providing livelihood opportunities for about 14 lakh families. Even though this sector amasses rich revenues via exports, workers in the plantation sector continue their feeble existence as outliers. This in turn proves detrimental to the development dynamics in the state. The plantation sector in Kerala is beset with manifold problems. The most somber among them is the dilemma of social exclusion of the plantation workers owing to socio-cultural and historic factors, which in turn manifests in the form of a vicious circle of poverty. Low levels of educational attainment amongst the plantation workers results in narrow employment opportunities in tandem with poor health conditions and dismal standards of living. Low choice in terms of employment is a major factor that results in the social exclusion of workers in the plantation sector. This is because livelihood alternatives play a very decisive role in moulding the identity of an individual in the society. It is impossible to aim for a better quality of life in the absence of a decent livelihood. Livelihood may be defined as the means by which households obtain and maintain access to the resources necessary to ensure their immediate and long-term survival. The concepts of poverty, social exclusion and livelihood are entwined to a very great extent. The higher the livelihood option, the higher is the chance of the individual to get rid of poverty and subsequent social exclusion. The plantation sector in Kerala has a hoary history. It is by and large considered as the product of colonialism (Raman, 1986). In Kerala, the erstwhile Travancore state was the first to have plantation estates in the late 1860s. Institutional factors like government, family and caste played the focal role in the growth of plantation sector in the state. Governmental measures like provision of land at easy terms and promotion of labour migration played a significant role in the flourishing of plantation sector in Kerala in the 19 th century. Labourers came pouring from distant places anticipating high wages (Uma Devi, 1989). However, they were met with harsh treatment on the part of the planters in the form of wages lower than promised, unhygienic working and living conditions and so on. The fact that the labourers came from faraway places resulted in their permanent settlement alongside the plantations with their families. This in turn led to the availability of cheap labour as the whole family (including women and children) were forced to work on the plantations at the wage determined by the planters. The migration also ensured that labour could be reproduced, which in turn would ease the problem of further recruitment (Sarkar and Bhowmik, 1998). It has also been instrumental in developing many of the remote areas into extensive rubber, spices, coffee and tea plantations. Among plantation crops, rubber endows maximum employment opportunities. In olden days, rubber plantations were concentrated in the districts of Idukki, Kottayam and Pathanamtitta. Later, sharp decline in the profit margin of crops like rice and coconut and alluring increase in the price of rubber shifted the interest of the farmers to rubber production. This in turn terminated in the prolific growth of rubber plantations in the state. After 1990s, because of the liberalized policy of central government and various regional and inter-regional trade pacts, the imposing stance of the plantation sector waned. Fluctuations in the price of plantation crops and the concomitant fall in employment opportunities have placed the plantation sector on a razor s edge. As workers in the plantation sector

3 PLANTATION WORKERS IN KERALA: AN INTRA-SECTOR ANALYSIS BASED ON STANDARD... / 209 have been employed in these plantations for several generations in each individual family, the wretched state of this sector has made their life literally dismal. In the case of cardamom, most of the cardamom plantations are owned by big land holding farmers, while about 90 per cent of the pepper plantations are owned by small growers. Nowadays, most of the cardamom plantations in Kerala hire contract labourers from Kambam area of Theni district in Tamil Nadu. The planters are not obligated to furnish benefits like medical aid, accommodation etc in the case of contract labourers. Hence it becomes profitable for the planters to employ them and such labourers are very much sought after. In the case of large plantations, notwithstanding the Plantations Labour Act of 1951 specifically mentions the basic amenities that should be compulsorily provided to labourers, most of the planters turn a blind eye on the same. To add fuel to their plight, the workers are forced to work and live in unhygienic surroundings which take a heavy toll on their health conditions. Insecure working conditions make them socially as well as financially weak, which automatically exclude them from the social strata. Ill-health conditions and low educational attainments leave them with lesser livelihood options causing them to enter into a vicious circle of poverty. The exposure of the plantation crops to the world market has resulted in stiff competition among the exporting countries. The consequential fall in the price of plantation crops has paved the way towards burgeoning indebtedness among farmers. This in turn has headed in the dreary direction of large scale unemployment among agriculture labourers and their ensuing plight. This has resulted in further fall in wages, thereby causing labour redundancy. As a conspicuous aftermath, the labourers are forced to migrate in search of other jobs. Lack of other skills forces them to remain in spices plantations, even without any work, in Wayanad and Idukki districts. Sengupta and Gopinath (2009) affirm that increased use of fertiliser causes severe headaches, vomiting, lack of concentration, difficulty in breathing, lung diseases and nuerological conditions like depression among the exposed labourers. The hazardous chemicals in the ferilizers can also contaminate water which they use for drinking and other domestic purposes. Overuse of fertilisers are prevalent in most of the large rubber and spice plantations. MATERIALS AND METHODS The article is an attempt at appraising the quality of life and standard of living of workers employed in the rubber and spice plantations of Kerala. Primary data pertaining to 300 respondents from three plantation sub-sectors (120 from spices plantations, 120 from small rubber plantations and 80 from large rubber plantations) in Kerala have been collected for this purpose. The number of respondents from each plantation was determined keeping in view its size and their respective population proportion. Primary data were collected from Idukki, Kottayam, Pathanamtitta and Wayanad; the districts having the highest concentration of plantations in Kerala. Stratified random sampling technique was used for the primary data collection. Rubber plantations were divided into small and large categories for the purpose of data collection as 90 per cent of rubber plantations fall under the ambit of small category. Cardamom and pepper plantations together are treated as spice planatations by considering most of the spice plantations comes under these two groups. A structured

4 210 / D. RAJASENAN AND RAJESH R. interview schedule was used to elicit information pertaining to quality of life inter alia standard of living parameters. Data were subjected to plantation-wise comparisons for understanding the differences, if any, in quality of life and standard of living. Statistical tools like correspondence analysis and Chi-Square tests have been employed for understanding dependency and relationships. STANDARD OF LIVING AND QUALITY OF LIFE Standard of Living Index Standard of living index is worked out using nine variables: type of house, ownership of house, land holdings, sanitary facilities, availability of electricity connection, source of fuel, main source of drinking water, status of water availability, possession of bank account and savings habit etc and this is given in Table 1. Table 1 Type of Plantation and Availability of Various SLI Indicators Amenities Type of Plantation Spices Rubber Rubber Total Small Large Ownership of house Own Govt. provided Others Type of house Semi-pucca Kutcha Serviceable kutcha Landholdings No land Up to 10 cents cents Sanitary Latrines With roof, wall & water supply With roof wall, no water supply Without roof Without door Availability of Yes Electricity Connection No Source of fuel Solar Biogas Kerosene Wood Main source of Water Own well/tube well public tap Public well/tube well Canal/river/pond Status of water availability Always Some days Daily (certain hours) Possess bank account Yes and have savings habit No Source: worked out from primary data

5 PLANTATION WORKERS IN KERALA: AN INTRA-SECTOR ANALYSIS BASED ON STANDARD... / 211 Ownership pattern of houses shows that majority of the workers (64 per cent) employed in small rubber plantations reside in their own homes. One of the prime factors that could be attributed to this state of affairs is that quarters are quite often provided to plantation workers by the farmers, especially in the case of spice and large rubber plantations. A large chunk of the workers in small rubber plantation works close to their homes. Only 17.7 per cent of the plantation workers got a roof to live beneath under various government schemes. Analysis of the type of houses 2 in which the workers reside lays bare that around half of the plantation workers, irrespective of the type of plantation, reside in semi-pucca houses. In the case of workers in small rubber plantations, 60 per cent of the respondents reside in semi-pucca houses. More than a quarter of the respondents, i.e respondents employed in spices sector, reside in serviceable kutcha houses. However, in the case of large and small rubber plantations, it comes to around 20 and 22 percentages respectively. While considering the land holding pattern among workers in the plantation sector, it is seen that 55 per cent of the workers in spice plantations own no land. This fact conjures a bleak picture which brings to light the pathetic and vulnerable existence of these workers in terms of exclusion. However, in the case of small and large rubber plantations, the figure is only 4 per cent and 10 per cent respectively. 60 per cent of the respondents from large rubber plantation and 24 per cent from small rubber plantations possess land between cents which is really remarkable (see Table 1). Proper sanitary facility is an important criterion in the measurement of quality of life. Here, the overall analysis reveals that only 22.5 per cent of the total respondents (see Table 1) have proper sanitary latrines with roof, wall and water supply and 25 per cent possess sanitary latrines without door or wall. Availability of electricity is another very important indicator in the measurement of quality of life. The analysis shows that majority (97 per cent) of the respondents have electricity connection in their homes. In the case of source of fuel, 88.5 per cent of the workers rely on wood followed by kerosene (11.5 per cent) as the principal source of fuel for cooking purposes (see Table 1). Regarding source of water, the overall analysis shows that 30 per cent of the plantation households depend on their own wells/tube wells for water (see Table 1). But majority, i.e per cent, depend on public source of water (41.8 per cent on public tap, 13.9 per cent on public well and 2.5 per cent on canal/river/pond) to cater to their needs. It is interesting to note that none of the households in spice plantations possess their own wells/tube wells and they solely depend on public tap for water. In the case of status of water availability, only 48.1 per cent of the households have the luxury of water availability throughout the day and all through the year (See Table 1). For the rest, water is available only for certain hours during the day. The analysis of the extent of possession of bank accounts and savings habit evinces that nearly half of the total sampled households (46.2 per cent) have savings habit. The remaining 53.8 per cent possess neither bank account nor savings habit (see Table 1). Such a trend clarions the lack of adequate income needed to endorse savings and the vulnerability of their livelihood in case of any uncertainty in employment opportunities or an emergency.

6 212 / D. RAJASENAN AND RAJESH R. The nine variables earlier used for SLI analysis are further taken up for working out the SLI indicators to value the quality of living of workers in the plantation sector. Among the plantation workers (Table 2.a), about half (48 per cent) of the households in spice plantations have a low standard of living whereas a staggering 94.7 per cent of the workers in large rubber plantations and 96 per cent in small rubber plantation enjoy medium SLI. Plantations Labour Act, which is applicable to large plantations (i.e., having more than 10 hectares under cultivation), is significant in this context. Most of the spice plantations and a meager 10 per cent of the rubber plantations in the state fall under this category. The Act stipulates uniform wages irrespective of sex, provision of proper amenities to the workers (including health dispensaries, schools, crèches, canteen, recreation clubs) etc. In addition, it specifies that facilities such as decent accommodation, potable drinking water and proper sanitation should be compulsorily provided for permanent workers. Most of the spice plantations employ workers on daily wages in order to escape from executing the provisions of Plantations Labour Act. Also, daily wage female labourers employed in these spice plantations are paid less. These reasons could be attributed to the low standard of living index among workers in the spice plantations. a. SLI and type of plantation SLI Table 2 Cross tab - SLI * Type of Plantation Type of Plantation Spices Rubber (Small) Rubber (Large) Low SLI Medium SLI High SLI Total b. Type of plantation and c. Type of plantation and Income Education SLI SLI Crosstab Type of Education SLI Type of Income SLI Plantation Plantation Low Medium High Low Medium High Spices Spices Rubber (small) Rubber (small) Rubber (large) Rubber (large) Total Total Source: worked out from primary data However, proper implementation of Plantations Labour Act of 1951 in most of the large rubber plantations is significant in this context. Better wage structure, accessibility to improved amenities, higher educational attainments and ample vocational skills are responsible for the medium SLI status of the workers in small as well as large rubber plantations (see Table 2.a). Wage disparity among small rubber plantations, unorganized nature of employment, preference for working in nearby locality, lack of permanency etc are some of the central reasons responsible for the medium SLI of workers in rubber plantations.

7 PLANTATION WORKERS IN KERALA: AN INTRA-SECTOR ANALYSIS BASED ON STANDARD... / 213 This kind of difference in SLI is further evaluated with the aid of Chi-Square test. The resultant Chi-Square value shows that there is significant disparity in the standard of living among workers in different plantations (Table 3.a). Table 3 Chi-Square tests a. Plantation type-sli * b. Plantation-Education c. Plantation-Income SLI ** SLI *** Value df Asymp. Value df Asymp. Value df Asymp. Sig. Sig. (2- Sig. (2- (2-sided) sided) sided) Pearson Chi-Square a a a 4 0 Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association N of Valid Cases * 4 cells (44.4%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is.24.** 3 cells (33.3%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 2.50.***3 cells (33.3%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is Source: worked out from primary data Source: worked out from primary data Figure 1: Correspondence Analysis

8 214 / D. RAJASENAN AND RAJESH R. Correspondence analysis has been used to understand standard of living index in a more lucid manner (see Figure 1.a). Figure 1.a depicts that the workers in spice plantations have a low SLI whereas the workers in both large and small rubber plantations enjoy a better SLI (i.e. medium SLI). Also, the workers in large rubber plantation show a clear sign of an upward movement in the ladder of standard of living parameters when compared to the workers in small rubber plantations seeing that their position in the SLI plot (see Figure 1.a) is in between high SLI and Medium SLI. Comparing Type of Plantation with Education and Income SLI Education SLI of workers in the plantation sector portrays a mixed picture of high, medium and low SLI in small rubber plantations, large rubber plantations and spice plantations respectively (see Table 2.b). In terms of educational attainment, 72.2 per cent of the workers in spice plantations have a low SLI whereas 47.1 per cent of the workers in large rubber plantations and 90 per cent of those in small rubber plantations are blessed with medium and high SLI respectively as shown in Table 2.b. Chi-Square test is employed to understand the difference in education SLI among plantation workers. The Chi-Square value shows that there is a noteworthy difference in their educational attainment levels which is quite significant in the estimation of quality of life of plantation workers (see Table 3.b). Correspondence analysis is inured to understand the inter-relationship between standard of living index and other important variables like income, education etc in the plantation sector. Correspondence graph (Figure 1.b) depicts that the workers in large rubber plantations have medium education SLI whereas those in spice plantations have low education SLI. Low educational attainment levels in conjunction with lack of adequate vocational skills are the focal reasons that could be attributed to low education SLI among the workers in spice plantations (see Figure 1.b). Workers in small rubber plantations have high SLI chiefly because of higher educational attainments when compared to the rest. Overall, workers in both small and large rubber plantations perform well in terms of education SLI. Rubber tapping is a job which requires considerable skill which can be attained only through proper training whereas work in spice sector is mainly unskilled in nature. Income plays a very important role in improving the livelihood and thereby the quality of life of households. Higher the income, higher will be the quality of life. In the case of spice plantations, majority of the workers fall in the category of low income SLI (see Table 2.c) whereas a significant percentage of the workers in large and small rubber plantations possess a high income SLI (66.7 per cent and 33.3 per cent respectively). Elevating prices of rubber and increased demand for rubber-tapping workers place them in a position to claim better wages. On the contrary, this is not possible in the case of workers employed in the spice sector because the prices of spice commodities are low compared to that of rubber. Chi-Square results (Table 3.c) show that there exists a significant difference in income and standard of living among the plantation workers. Correspondence analysis (Figure 1.c) elucidates in a clear-cut way the income SLI category to which each faction of plantation workers belongs. Low income on account

9 PLANTATION WORKERS IN KERALA: AN INTRA-SECTOR ANALYSIS BASED ON STANDARD... / 215 of low wage component, wage disparity in terms of gender, lack of proper implementation of plantation wages as well as increased seasonality nature of employment place workers in the spice sector in the low income SLI bracket. Increased wages, more organized nature of employment and somewhat proper implementation of plantation wages enable workers in the large rubber plantation to possess median income SLI (between high and medium). Conversely, wage disparity between plantations and lack of permanency in job result in medium income SLI among workers in the small rubber plantations. CONCLUSION The study discusses the livelihood assets of plantation workers in reference to those components identified by the USAID (2005) which are mandatory for a sustainable livelihood and poverty alleviation. The physical assets of the majority of plantation workers remain negligible. The condition of workers in the spice plantations is pathetic when compared to that of those employed in rubber plantations. Also, most of them live in kutcha type of houses. The land holding capacity of workers is also very low in all the plantation sectors. One significant fact is that most of them reside in their own houses. The only exception here is in the case of workers in the large rubber plantation where those who have migrated from distant places stay in the plantation quarters made available to them. In terms of the acquisition of government benefits, majority of the workers are deprived of the same. Natural assets are considered to be very important especially due to the unfavorable geographical conditions. Water scarcity is an adverse problem in the spice plantations during summer. Workers by and large depend on tube wells or public wells for their routine affairs. Amongst the plantation workers, the exploitation of natural assets is limited to the use of well water and timber. With regard to the quality of human assets, most of the workers in rubber plantations possess high school education whereas the workers in spice plantations have received only primary school education. Workers in the spice sector have been found to possess least skill and educational attainment levels among the workers employed in the plantation sector. As rubber tapping requires sizeable skills, tappers can be considered as semi-skilled labourers. Lack of education and vocational skills make them vulnerable in the case of livelihood options. In terms of financial assets like the possession of bank account, savings etc, the condition of workers is very poor. Also, the prevalence of gender-based wage discrimination is common in the case of small scale plantations. The situation of workers in the process of financial inclusion is dismal. A trend of significant increase in wage is seen in the case of small rubber plantations because of the current escalation in the prices of rubber. This development has commendably improved the living condition of tappers. Participation of women workers in kudumbashree programmes is the only social asset which has been identified among the plantation workers. Regarding political assets, the workers in large plantations are more affiliated to political parties even though almost all workers in the sector have actively participated in voting. While comparing the livelihood of workers in the two commodity sectors, i.e. rubber and spices, it is clear that the problem of decent livelihood is more perennial and severe in case of spice plantation workers. This article

10 216 / D. RAJASENAN AND RAJESH R. tries to capture the various welfare measures initiated by the rubber board and the labour department for the welfare of the plantation workers in Kerala. However, the livelihood variables confirm that plantation workers livelihood options are below the standard criteria and needs further study to identify the underlying issues accountable for the same. References Agricultural Statistics (2013), Department of Economics and Statistics, Government of Kerala. Raman, K. Ravi (1986), Plantation Labour: Revisit Required, Economic and Political Weekly 21 (22), pp Sarkar, Kanchan and Bhowmik, Sharit Kumar (1998), Trade Unions and Women Workers in Tea Plantations, Economic and Political Weekly, 33 (52), pp. L50-L52. Sengupta, Ranja and Gopinath, Abhilash (2009), The Current Trade Frame Work and Gender Linkage in Developing Economies: An Introduction Survey of Issues with Special Reference to India, CENTAD, New Delhi. Uma Devi, S (1989), Plantation Economics of the Third World, Himalaya Publishing House, Delhi. USAID (2005), Report on Livelihood and Conflict Tool Kit for Intervention.