Hill Country Plantation People in Sri Lanka…
Historical Victims…?
Note on Discussion with UN Team of Secretary General, visited to
Sri Lanka
(Aug 31-Sep 02, 2016)
Sri
Lanka has come to occupy an important place in the international politics of
late. International attention and intervention have focused on the
reconciliation process, constitutional reform, restoration of human rights,
rule of law and integrated development which have followed the political change
of 2015. In this background, the United Nations’ (UN) monitoring and
intervention become important. And so is the recent visit of a UN Team headed
by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. In
this context it becomes of paramount importance to study whether the people of
all communities in a plural society such as Sri Lanka, participate in such
exercises, whether their rights and aspirations are reflected, and whether
their decisions given prominence. As far as the Hill Country Plantation people,
with specific reference to the plantation Tamil community, are concerned, they have
been historically marginalized from such exercises, though, of course, the
sessions of the UN in the recent past have given a serious consideration to the
problems of this community.
An
opportunity had been afforded to the Human Development Organization to present views
on behalf of the civil societies and NGOs for the attention of the UN Team of Secretary
General. Mr. P.P. Sivapragasam, President of HDO put forward the following
matters.
The
Hill Country Planation Tamil people are an important minority community in the
social, economic and political structure of Sri Lanka. Although they are
subjected to various form of discrimination and disparities, human rights
violation etc historically, and also, although they are 1.5 million of the
total population of Sri Lanka. This itself makes it an important duty for the
international organizations such as UNO to give a serious thought to the
question whether the rights and aspirations of these people are taken
seriously.
The
government of good governance which has prioritized the constitutional reform,
reconciliation mechanism, economic structural reform, rule of law, development
process etc. has to ensure that the minority community, and particularly the
hill country people are absorbed in to the proposed mechanism. They have to be
given their due status as citizens of this country rather than being looked at
merely as workers.
The
political, economic, social, cultural rights etc. of the hill country
plantation people have to be guaranteed in the constitutional reform. At the sometime they should be rid of ethnic religious,
nationality and gender disparities and their fundamental human rights be ensured.
Poverty: They
are the most poverty stricken people in the country. Ironically, a Household Income
& Expenditure Survey Statistics in 2012/13 (HHI&ES) stated that the
poverty level among these people has shown 10.9%, (HCI) while compared to year
2006/07 which was 32 percent, the credulity of which was open to question and
criticism.
Land & Housing: Land
and Housing rights of the hill country plantation people is another
controversial issue. 67.8% (HHI&E
Survey 2012/2013) of them still live in line rooms which were built during the
colonial era. At the same time even
these lines and the land space on which the lines stand are not given to their ownership.
The government of good governance implementing housing projects for the
plantation workers is laudable. However the process needs to be accelerated and
expanded. The other problem affecting these people is their language right. The
failure to appoint adequate Tamil officers in the government institutions in
the areas of their predominance has made their condition pathetic.
Access to public services:
there are over 200,000 people to be covered by the each Ambagamuwa and Nuwara
Eliya Divisional Secretariats in the Nuwara Eliya District. This has become stumbling
block to the Tamil people of these areas to accessing state services. Article 33
of the Pradeshiya Sabha Act of Sri Lanka prevents these people from being
benefited from the local authority services. This emphasizes the need for an
amendment to the Act.
Education & Health: The
right of the plantation people to education and health services are relatively
backward. Although the present government has made an allocation in the budget
at national level, as far as the hill country areas are concerned, there are a
few 1 AB schools to teach science and equipped with residential facilities. For
example 60% of the population in the Nuwara Eliya District are Tamil. But while
there are only 7 1AB School for them, there are 19 Sinhala medium schools
(2013). This disparity is notable. The
plantation medical health service should be upgraded to conform to National and
International standards. Notably the children’s and women’s reproductive health
aspect is backward. At present a vast
majority of the plantation medical institutions are manned by Estate Medical Assistants,
who sometimes perform as doctors. This has become a challenge to the national
stream.
Right to Livelihood: The
right of the hill country plantation people to livelihood is a fundamental right.
Their daily wage is determined on the basis of collective agreement. That too
has not been renewed for the last 2 years resulting in the freeze of their
wage. Negotiation between the trade unions and the employer’s federation has
failed. It’s very much in question whether the parties follow the corporate
Social Responsibility or the Code of UN Global Compact. Plantation workers are
the lowest paid as far as this country is concerned-receiving the lowest daily
wage compared to their counterparts in the other sectors and even the
non-formal sector workers. This has pushed them into eternal poverty.
There
are various obstacles and discrimination on these people’s way to access to
development services. It’s tied to social, economic and political rights. But as many plantations are company managed
or state agency (JEDB/SLPC) managed, there are short comings and setbacks. to
the national development project’s and development benefits-reaching or the
plantation people reaching such benefits.
Structural
change of the plantation sector is the much talked about subject of late.
Should the workers be identified as free labour, it could be achieved only if
their fundamental rights are guaranteed constitutionally.
(This Article was Published in Sri Lankan National
News Papers..Thinakaran 6/9/2016, Thinakural 13/9/2016 and Social Medias)
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