Upasi seeks removal of obsolete laws

COONOOR: The president of the United Planters’ Association of Southern India (Upasi) has called for structural changes by way of removing legislation which, he claimed, was doing the opposite of what it was originally meant to.

Calling for suspension of these obsolete laws, Upasi chief EB Sethna said: “The Land Reforms Act hampers growth and productivity and has certainly not provided the quality and equity it was meant to and our agricultural sector still remains the weakest patch in our economic quilt.

Labour legislation has not helped labour to the extent it was meant to and has restrained the industry from achieving its fullest potential. The spirit of the Minimum Wage Act is constantly being subverted by politically motivated state governments. A case in point is the Minimum Wage Notification in Kerala with respect to plantation labour.

The Association of Plantations of Kerala has obtained a stay in the Kerala High Court and hearings are on. Forcing a wage by legislation, which the industry is not in a position to pay, does not make sense. The organised sector, which provides employment for a large number of workers will gradually wither away,” he said.

“We have played politics with economics too long. If we have to stabilise the plantation industry for the future, the government must take bold steps,” he added.

The Upasi chief said that while growers’ realisations for coffee, rubber and pepper had survived the traumatic phase when incomes had dropped below average production costs, the tea industry was still in duress. Most planters in the organised sector were still making huge losses.

However, Mr Sethna commended policymakers for their rather belated realisation that the best way to protect producers was by ensuring a solid domestic consumption base that also generated employment.

“Along with propagating generic promotion, it is necessary that supportive marketing infrastructure and dispensing and brewing equipment is also developed.

To have adequate penetration and coverage, huge investments are necessary which the industry is not in a position to make at present. Steps already initiated by tea and coffee boards should be sustained for longer periods and substantial outlays will have to be provided for,” Mr Sethna said.