Plantation giant Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad has refuted claims by its ex-workers in Selangor and Perak that it repeatedly shunned them despite numerous letters appealing for a dialogue.

Ex-workers of both Ladang Bukit Jelutong Rasak and two other estates in Perak have sent nine and 16 letters respectively prior to the memorandum to Guthrie chairperson Musa Hitam on March 6 last year.

Subsequently, the Bukit Jelutong group met with Musa on April 7, who proposed that the ex-workers follow-up the matter with the company's sub-committee.

The protracted battle with Guthrie began when the company ceased operations in Ladang Bukit Jelutong Rasak in1997.

The matter went to court after 27 ex-workers filed to stop Guthrie from demolishing their homes, at least until a mutually-agreeable settlement is reached.

Several meetings

In a 13-point fact sheet obtained by malaysiakini via e-mail, the company said it conducted several meetings with the ex-workers when it was about to cease operations at Ladang Bukit Jelutong Rasak.

In the question-and-answer, Guthrie listed down 10 meetings with various parties over the last six years.

They include representatives from the National Union of Plantation Workers, the Malayan Agricultural Producers Association as well as local elected representatives and MIC politicians.

The workers' representatives attended the last three meetings.

Ex-workers believe that Guthrie only agreed to meet after the peaceful demonstration which caught Musa's attention early last year.

No agreement

Contacted today, social activist S Aruthchelvan said all the meetings since 1997 failed to bear any fruit.

"No agreement was reached despite the meetings with so many different representatives," he added.

At the same time, Guthrie had offered low-cost flats at RM25,000 each in Bukit Subang, said to be about 10 minutes drive from Bukit Jelutong.

"None of the offers were taken up by the ex-workers," he added. The company maintains that the offer is still valid until today, albeit at RM35,000 per low-cost unit, which it claims was "way below the current market price".

"The latest offer was made in February this year and none of them have responded to it."

However, the ex-workers have been lobbying for alternative housing in other locations.

Arutchelvan also blamed Guthrie's adamance in forcing the remaining families to relocate to low-cost flats in Bukit Subang.

He said the ex-workers were told that no low-cost flats or terrace houses were immediately available in Bukit Jelutong.

"The company then offered low- and low-medium-cost flats in Bukit Jelutong at RM88,000 in a 10-storey block and at RM100,000 in a five-storey block with elevators," he said.

"But the projects have yet to begin despite a scheduled completion date of 2007," he added.

Alternatively, he said, the ex-workers were offered units priced at RM230,000 in Subang 1 and low-cost flats going for RM42,000 in Subang 2.

Besides compensation, the 27 ex-workers demanded for a RM400 ex-gratia payment for every year of service, and the construction of a temple, church and Tamil school.

Arutchelvan said the company claimed to have given land for the respective purposes.

"But it did not build a temple on grounds that it had no money, so the matter was left to the MIC, which until today has not done anything. Even the land size has shrunk now.

"It also claimed to have given land to build a church in Montfort, but that was way back in the 1960s. Even the land for the Tamil school is now in question," he said.

Stumbling block

He believes that the issue of Bukit Subang for alternative housing is a non-starter.

"It is a stumbling block because the ex-workers refuse to move there. But I'm sure they would be more agreeable to the idea of somewhere in or around Bukit Jelutong, and not Bukit Subang which is about 15km away."

Guthrie has repeatedly assured the ex-workers of a dialogue but have not fixed a date yet.

In an e-mail to malaysiakini last Saturday, Guthrie's public affairs manager Noor Aizam Al Jeffri, reiterated the company's intention of holding a "discussion with the relevant parties".

She assured that as a public-listed company, Guthrie would "continue to observe good corporate governance".

"(We) hope that all parties will be pragmatic and professional in their approach to the issue."

An application by the 27 ex-workers of Ladang Bukit Jelutong Rasak to set aside the default judgment obtained by Guthrie in the middle of last year is scheduled to be heard in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow.