An estate workers' support group handed in a memorandum to members of Parliament today urging the House to move an emergency resolution to resolve their poverty.

The group, headed by K Kunasegaran, said the 2002 budget unveiled by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad last month did not allocate much for estate workers.

"We want Parliament to intervene and ensure that the workers' poverty problems are resolved. We request for a monthly basic wage which does not depend on factors outside our control such as weather and market volatility," he said.

Kunasegaran added that the RM325 minimum wage scheme, implemented in March this year for palm oil workers was a "big fraud".

"After eight months since its implementation, the workers' salaries did not reach RM1,200 (inclusive of allowances) as promised," said the coordinator of the group.

"This is a big blow to the workers," he added.

Kunasegaran, who led the 20-people delegation, said they wanted to avoid another big blow-up by urging MPs to raise the plight of estate workers seriously in Parliament.

Minimum wage

"We want rubber estate workers to get the right minimum wage scheme which is at par with others in their industries and their productivity level," he added.

Early this year, the National Union of Plantation Workers and Malaysian Agriculture Producers Association signed a deal which gave palm oil estate workers a minimum wage of RM325.

This amount did not include bonuses and allowances which workers were entitled to receive if they were not absent from work. Mapa projected that workers would be able to receive monthly salaries as high as RM1,200 or more, depending on the harvest and their productivity level.

The signing of the deal was witnessed by the Human Resources Ministry who intervened earlier to resolve the problems between NUPW and Mapa who were seeking to settle the matter via the Industrial Court.

It is learnt that the rubber estate workers are negotiating with Mapa to approve a similar monthly wage system for them.

Kunasegaran said that the workers' minimum wage or salary increment must take into account the current inflation rate and poverty level of the country.

This, he said, is to ensure that estate workers will not be impoverished eternally and that a better pay scheme can enhance their buying power and improve their quality of life.

Emergency resolution

PAS president Fadzil Noor who received the memorandum on behalf of the opposition said he sympathised with the plight of the workers.

The opposition leader promised the group that the MPs would try to raise the issue in Parliament but cautioned that emergency resolutions depended on the House Speaker.

Emergency resolutions, he said, were only approved if the matter was specific, urgent and of public concern.

"Many of our resolutions were rejected by the Speaker who claimed we have not fulfilled the criteria (for emergency resolutions)," said Fadzil, who is also MP for Pendang (Kedah).

"However, we will try and I believe this matter is specific, urgent and concerns the public. If we can't have a resolution, we will raise the issue in our debates," he added.

Parliament officer Mohd Sanusi Abdullah received the memorandum on behalf of the prime minister.