More than 200 estate workers will gather outside the Selangor Mentri Besar's office tomorrow to protest against the ineffective implementation of the state's housing policy for plantation workers.

The group's representative, A Sivarajan said today instead of being given housing facilities or compensation according to the policy, these workers have been slapped with eviction notices and terminated from their jobs.

"There is a housing policy but it has not been effective at all although it came into force more than 10 years ago," said Sivarajan, who is also Community Development Center representative.

"The policy has failed to solve our problems and it's time to alert the Mentri Besar about it," he told malaysiakini .

The house ownership scheme for estate and mine workers was introduced in 1973 by the then prime minister, the late Tun Abdul Razak.

The Selangor state executive council announced a policy in August 1991 requiring estate owners to provide alternative houses or land in the event the estate is being sold or developed.

Upon termination, workers are also entitled to payment of termination benefits under the Employment (Termination and Lay-off Benefits) Regulations 1980.

Long standing problems

"It's been 10 years and we have had two Mentri Besar and yet the problem has not been resolved," said Sivarajan.

He noted that estate owners and developers do not respect this policy and estate workers are left uncertain of what the future might hold for them and their families.

He said a committee on estate workers home ownership programme, including representation by three non-governmental organisations, has mobilised about 250 people from 13 plantations in Selangor to meet Mentri Besar Mohd Khir Toyo tomorrow.

They will hand him a memorandum listing all their problems, seeking help to resolve long standing issues plaguing plantation workers, he added

The three NGOs are the Community Development Centre, Kajang, the People's Services Organisation, Batang Berjuntai and the Suara Warga Pertiwi (Voice of the Country's Citizens).

Each of the 13 estates has about 40 to 50 families which have been affected by housing problems since 1990, said Sivarajan.

In limbo

He said that there had been several meetings with state executive councillors and estate owners regarding the matter but nothing has been done to date.

Early this month, malaysiakini reported that six plantations totaling 725 families were still in a limbo as to their housing needs and compensation after being evicted or terminated from their jobs due to the estates being converted for development projects. [#1] (Life sucks for plantation workers)[/#]

The estates are Kajang Braemar Estate, Selangor Midlands Estate and the Selangor Brooklands Estate whose cases are still pending in court. Workers from Padang Meiha Estate (Kedah), Simpang Estate in Simpang Empat (Seberang Perai) and Sungai Rinching Estate in Semenyih (Selangor) are also still waiting for better homes and financial assistance.