Under the leadership of various trade unions, plantation workers across Kerala have commenced an indefinite strike on Monday, demanding wage increment and bonus revision.
According to Times of India, in Wayanad district the Wayanad Estate Labour Union, under the leadership of CITU, blocked the National Highway at Chundel for five hours while other trade unions held marches to estate offices in the district.
In Kozhikode district around 2,000 workers had hit the Kozhikode-Mysuru highway blocking the road.
The situation was no different in Malappuram district Pullankode rubber plantation, where the workers have been insisting on wage revision since December 2014. Around 500 workers took out a march in Malappuram with the support of all trade unions.
Meanwhile, a tribal welfare group Adivasi Kshema Sabha organized a protest by tribal plantation workers where they staged a sit in near Anamari checkpost on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu inter-state highway, disrupting traffic for hours.
The report says that the major demands of all protesters included a minimum salary of Rs 500, payment of 20% bonus, inclusion of plantation workers in the BPL list and proper housing and medical facilities.