The past week has seen reports of the uphill struggle of workers from yet another two estates to get alternative housing upon retrenchment. Thirty six workers from Kamiri and Changkat Salak estates in Sungei Siput, Perak have reached a critical point in their struggle as the verdict of the court case to evict them looms near.

The case for summary eviction, which was initiated by plantation giant, Guthrie, will be heard two days before Deepavali, and the prospect of getting a favourable verdict is extremely bleak.

Which is why the workers are trying so hard to meet the man who can solve their problems Perak Menteri Besar Tajol Rosli. Unfortunately, since their termination in late 1999 till now they have tried up to 30 times to get an appointment to see him but failed. They have however managed to see their state assemblyperson and state exco member, Chang Ko Youn, and his stand on the issue has already appeared in the newspapers.

Chang's comments which must reflect the government's position are that:

  • the state has no powers to use the Land Acquisition Act to acquire 4 acres of Guthrie land to house the former workers, and
  • there is no government land in Sg Siput to create a settlement scheme for the workers

That there could be no government land left in all of Sg Siput is a mind-boggling revelation and every resident of Sg Siput should be concerned about how and where it has all gone. But what is of interest here is the claim that the state is powerless to use the Land Acquisition Act, which lawyers advise can indeed be used by the government for the public or any class of the public for residential purposes among others.

The Kelantan example

The intervention of a state government to obtain housing lots for estate workers is not something new. Kelantan stands out as an example of a state that has obtained plantation company land (Taiko Plantations) for the workers of at least two estates, with another five in the process. How did Kelantan do it? Did it use the law? Did it use its influence?

In the case of Kelantan, land was obtained from Taiko Plantations, a largely private concern, and given out as bungalow lots to estate workers. In the case of Kamiri and Changkat Salak Estates, we are talking about Guthrie which is owned almost entirely by the government through its agencies such as Permodalan Nasional Berhad and Amanah Saham Bumiputera.

We are talking about the largest plantation company in Malaysia, with 250 000 acres of land nationwide and 12 000 acres of it in Sg Siput. One would imagine it would be easier obtaining land from a government-owned estate as compared to a private concern.

However, the Perak state government seems extremely reluctant to use the Land Acquisition Act or its powers on behalf of the workers. It is not difficult to see that the excuse of powerlessness is actually a camouflage for a lack of political will.

Chang Ko Youn has complained in the papers that the estate workers are insisting on what he refers to as 'bungalow lots' as alternative housing. His attitude is obvious: that the workers are demanding what is beyond their station in life. In his meetings with the workers he has further said that it would be unfair to take away 4 acres of land from Guthrie. This kind of attitude is the stumbling block to any meaningful resolution of the problem by the government.

Estate workers are not asking for charity from any quarter. Their demands for a free housing lot or a free terrace house are based on very firm grounds.

The plantation industry, which is over a hundred years old, owes its prosperity to hundreds of thousands of underpaid and oppressed workers over the years. The pittance that has been paid them as wages is no reflection of the actual value of their labour to the industry.

Now the plantation industry in Malaysia is at a crossroads of sorts. There has been extensive estate sale for development as well as crop conversion, both of which have resulted in the expulsion of workers from what has been home to them for up to three generations. Ten or fifteen years ago, workers retired upon reaching old age and continued staying on with their children who themselves had taken up employment at the estate. The issue of alternative housing seldom arose.

Difficult to save

But now, workers are displaced and have to move out, with a retrenchment benefit of 20 days wages per year of service, as provided in the law. The question is: has the quantum and structure of their wage enabled them to save money to buy a house, at prevailing market prices? The most recently concluded collective agreement set RM350 as a minimum monthly wage for oil palm harvesters. The possibility of setting aside money as savings is remote.

Keeping wages low is in the interest of not only the plantation companies but also the government, which wants to maintain a cheap labour policy to attract and keep investors. But the government needs to put into place measures that will enable low-income earners to meet their basic needs. Otherwise it is the workers who have to pay the price of a low-wage policy. It is totally unfair to deny workers a living wage on the one hand and on the other expect them to fulfill their needs at the going market price.

A social wage then must complement a low-wage policy. It can take the form of free or subsidized housing, medical care and education. Given the transitionary phase of the estate sector, the need for a social wage specifically with regards to housing, is urgent.

The demands of the former workers of Changkat Salak and Kamiri Estates for alternative housing are a rightful demand for a social wage. Such a demand has surfaced because of Guthrie's failure to implement the Tun Razak Housing Scheme of 1973, and the negligence of the government in directing the company to do so. The eruption of plantation workers' struggles throughout the country for alternative housing upon estate sale or crop conversion also points to a dire lack of legislation to uphold their rights.

The time for a social wage for plantation workers, and laws, not mere policies, on alternative housing is now.

Mohanarani is a coordinator of the plantation worker support committee based in Ipoh.