Munnar tea estate strike ends

The strike called by women labourers of tea estates in Munnar ended late on Sunday following an agreement between the representatives of the protesters and the Kannan Devan Hills Plantations (KDHP) company.

The breakthrough came on the ninth day after the KDHP authorities assured benefits during a series talks in Kochi that were also attended by Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.

Speaking with reporters following the talks with representatives of the KDHP company, trade unions and the protesters, comprising mainly Tamil women, till around 8 pm, Chandy said the labourers’ demand for a 20 per cent bonus would be addressed with a package of 8.33 per cent in bonus and a 11.67 per cent ex-gratia component.
Achuthanandan steps in

On a day when attempts by political parties to muster crucial points from the strike became all too evident, it was V S Achuthanandan who took the centre stage with a characteristically crowd-rousing appearance at the protest venue.

The Leader of the Opposition decided against visiting CPM’s Devikulam MLA S Rajendran who is on a parallel sit-in protest backing the labourers and, instead, turned up to address the labourers.