BENGALURU: Karnataka could be staring at a farm labour crisis, with Congress’s poll freebies being blamed for a section of the skilled workforce opting for a life on the dole or raising new demands like an increase in minimum wages, additional benefits and reduced working hours.
Coffee plantations, which employ 5 lakh-odd out of the 30 lakh farm workforce, are already facing a shortage of skilled labourers eligible for benefits like 10kg of free rice, Rs 2,000 a month to every woman head of a family, free bus rides for women and 200 units of electricity.
Bose Mandanna N, former vice-chairman of Coffee Board of India, blamed “a lot of freebies for the sudden shortage of labourers”. “This has impacted estates. If this continues, it will be tough to run plantation business,” he told TOI from Kodagu district. Sri Gowra, a coffee grower from Chikkamagaluru, said the industry was already battling a labour shortage when the rollout of freebies worsened the crisis.
Labourers demand hike in wages, benefits like bonus & PF
Local labourers have stopped coming to work now. To tide over the crisis, we have had to hire workers from other parts of the country. But the problem is they are not skilled. It’s a dire situation.”
Karnataka Farmers’ Association president Kurubur Shantha Kumar blamed the Congress government’s poll guarantees for “instilling a sense of complacency in the labour sector”.
BC Prabhakar, president of the Karnataka Employers’ Association, said getting local labour from tier-II cities to work had become a struggle.“Labourers from regions like Hasan and Kalaburagi have refrained from work since the poll guarantees were fulfilled by the Siddaramaiah government soon after taking office. The MNREGA scheme, which pledges 120 days of employment annually, has discouraged individuals from migrating outside their home region. This has significantly burdened the farmers,” he said.
Some of the new demands by labourers are an increase in minimum daily wages from Rs 360 to Rs 460 for eight hours of work, besides introduction of benefits like bonus and PF.
Labour unions insist that the guarantees may see a positive impact on workers’ livelihood rather than create a crisis. All India Trade Union Congress’s Karnataka secretary Sathayanand said too much was being made of the government’s freebies.
“Many labourers engage in informal work for minimum wages ranging from Rs 13,000 to Rs 14,000 a month. How is that amount enough to support a family’s needs? While the government is offering schemes, numerous other expenses such as children’s school fees remain to be taken care of. Without work, it’s unclear how they will handle these financial responsibilities.The guaranteed benefits they receive are insufficient,” he said.
Coffee plantations, which employ 5 lakh-odd out of the 30 lakh farm workforce, are already facing a shortage of skilled labourers eligible for benefits like 10kg of free rice, Rs 2,000 a month to every woman head of a family, free bus rides for women and 200 units of electricity.
Bose Mandanna N, former vice-chairman of Coffee Board of India, blamed “a lot of freebies for the sudden shortage of labourers”. “This has impacted estates. If this continues, it will be tough to run plantation business,” he told TOI from Kodagu district. Sri Gowra, a coffee grower from Chikkamagaluru, said the industry was already battling a labour shortage when the rollout of freebies worsened the crisis.
Labourers demand hike in wages, benefits like bonus & PF
Local labourers have stopped coming to work now. To tide over the crisis, we have had to hire workers from other parts of the country. But the problem is they are not skilled. It’s a dire situation.”
Karnataka Farmers’ Association president Kurubur Shantha Kumar blamed the Congress government’s poll guarantees for “instilling a sense of complacency in the labour sector”.
BC Prabhakar, president of the Karnataka Employers’ Association, said getting local labour from tier-II cities to work had become a struggle.“Labourers from regions like Hasan and Kalaburagi have refrained from work since the poll guarantees were fulfilled by the Siddaramaiah government soon after taking office. The MNREGA scheme, which pledges 120 days of employment annually, has discouraged individuals from migrating outside their home region. This has significantly burdened the farmers,” he said.
Some of the new demands by labourers are an increase in minimum daily wages from Rs 360 to Rs 460 for eight hours of work, besides introduction of benefits like bonus and PF.
Labour unions insist that the guarantees may see a positive impact on workers’ livelihood rather than create a crisis. All India Trade Union Congress’s Karnataka secretary Sathayanand said too much was being made of the government’s freebies.
“Many labourers engage in informal work for minimum wages ranging from Rs 13,000 to Rs 14,000 a month. How is that amount enough to support a family’s needs? While the government is offering schemes, numerous other expenses such as children’s school fees remain to be taken care of. Without work, it’s unclear how they will handle these financial responsibilities.The guaranteed benefits they receive are insufficient,” he said.