Failure by both the National Union of Plantation Workers (NUPW) and MIC to get houses for the 300,000 estate workers nationwide under the Estate Workers Home Ownership Scheme (EWHOS), has resulted in the workers facing economic hardships claims DAP.

The scheme was introduced by the government in the 1970s on a voluntary basis to ensure that estate workers were able to own houses.

rela civil suit shooting death 130906 a sivanesan However, both NUPW and MIC had let slip this opportunity to ensure these workers with a roof over their heads, which later proved to be a gold mine as estates were eventually turned into housing projects.

According to DAP national labour bureau chief A Sivanesan (right) , in the 1970s, NUPW was the strongest and largest union and was also the founding member of Malaysian Trade Unions Congress (MUTC).

He said NUPW could have easily pressured the estate managements to ensure that all their members numbering about 160,000 benefitted from this scheme.

"But instead they chose to sweep their obligations under the carpet and left these poor workers high and dry without them financially benefitting from the later development of estates into housing projects like around towns like Ipoh and Negeri Sembilan," said the  labour lawyer and former unionist.

Economic catastrophe

He said both MIC and NUPW were involved in this economic catastrophe of the estate workers in the sense that MIC branch chairpersons often doubled up as NUPW chairmen and also as temple heads of their respective estates.

"Both had failed in their duties to protect the interests of estate workers who compose 95 percent of Indians and are facing an economic crisis without a social security net."

Sivanesan said the present NUPW general secretary G Sangkaran had recently said in a media statement that the union is going to campaign for free houses for estate workers.

The DAP leader asked whether this statement was issued in the general secretary's personal capacity as NUPW members had assured Sivanesan that no such resolution had been adopted by the labour union.

"They had missed the golden opportunity in their heydays and now the union is weak and how is he going to go about it?" asked a puzzled Sivanesan.