Naam Tamilar Katchi led by its Chief Coordinator Seeman led a protest supporting the TAN TEA plantation workers at Pandalur near the Nilgiris.
The Nilgiris: The Tamil Nadu Tea Plantation Corporation (TANTEA) is functioning in Gudalur and Pandalur areas of the Nilgiris district.
More than 10,000 immigrant Tamils are working in the estates attached to TANTEA.
Due to retrenchment the work force has been scaled down to 5,000 and Tamil Nadu government is also in talks to hand over about 3,000 acres of tea estate lands to the forest department, which would be inimical to the interests of the workers. This has been strongly opposed by the Tan tea workers.
Leading a massive protest meeting and later addressing the reporters “Seeman said, our demand is that the tea estate lands created by Perarignar Anna in 1968 should not be handed over to the forest department. We stand with the TAN TEA workers in this respect as this move would lead to loss of livelihood to the thousands of tea estate workers.
“The administration is responsible for the present scenario The workers cannot be held accountable. It is not acceptable to say that there is a shortage of manpower after sacking 2,100 people†he said.
Further adding Seeman said that for the present scenario in TAN TEA, which has become a sick unit is of it own making.
The government should continue to run TANTEA as the plantation workers demand nothing more than Rs. 425 as wages per day†Seeman said and added “estate lands should not be converted into forest lands once the lease period is overâ€.
More than 10,000 immigrant Tamils are working in the estates attached to TANTEA.
Due to retrenchment the work force has been scaled down to 5,000 and Tamil Nadu government is also in talks to hand over about 3,000 acres of tea estate lands to the forest department, which would be inimical to the interests of the workers. This has been strongly opposed by the Tan tea workers.
Leading a massive protest meeting and later addressing the reporters “Seeman said, our demand is that the tea estate lands created by Perarignar Anna in 1968 should not be handed over to the forest department. We stand with the TAN TEA workers in this respect as this move would lead to loss of livelihood to the thousands of tea estate workers.
“The administration is responsible for the present scenario The workers cannot be held accountable. It is not acceptable to say that there is a shortage of manpower after sacking 2,100 people†he said.
Further adding Seeman said that for the present scenario in TAN TEA, which has become a sick unit is of it own making.
The government should continue to run TANTEA as the plantation workers demand nothing more than Rs. 425 as wages per day†Seeman said and added “estate lands should not be converted into forest lands once the lease period is overâ€.