status of upcountry tamil women
DESCRIPTION
This was presented at the Mauritius UNESCO Conference 2014 to celebrate the Indentured Labor RouteTRANSCRIPT
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I N D E N T U R E D L A B O U R R O U T E
I N T E R N A T I O N A L C O N F E R E N C E
M A U R I T I U S O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4
Plantation Tamil Women in Sri Lanka – An Overview
Dr Chandrika SubramaniyanMA MPhil PhD LLB LLM MAICD
Solicitor and Barrister(Supreme Court of NSW and High Court of Australia)
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Plantation Tamils in Sri Lanka
Today
BBC Report : current status of Plantation Tamils is worse than the status existed during British period
Badulla land slide October 2014 : best example
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Landslide Badulla 2014
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line houses of intIND. labour
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BRITISH COLONISATION
early 1800 s5.4 % - population in Sri Lanka
EARLY HISTORY
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WOMEN
Women and Workforce
75%-85% of the work force
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KANKANIS
sub contracted – power abuse
recruitment of staff and management of staff
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DESK TOP
Research basis
constraint in accessing the resources
geographical location of the author
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T H E P O L I T I C A L S T A T U S O F P L A N T A T I O N T A M I L S
Characteristics of Plantation Industry
1948 disenfranchised stateless and without citizenship right
1964 Srimavo Bandaranaike –Shastri divided - three categories
• 525,000 - Indian-resident repatriates
• 300,000 -entitled to SL citizenship
• 150,000 residents statelessness would be addressed at a later date.
In 2000, - 300,000 Tamils continued to be stateless
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POPULATION GROWTH?
Citizenship Act 35 of 2003
in three decades - population growth from 812,700 to 842,300?????
N. Sathiya Moorthy, the Director and Senior Research Fellow, Observer Research Foundation.
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LIVE IN “LINE ROOMS”
The Living conditions
space constraintspoor sanitation conditions and no privacy
6-12 or 24 line rooms /one line no windows or ventilation
dark in naturehealth threats
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POVERTY
Poverty among the plantation Tamils
2002 - poverty recorded - 7% above the national level
in the plantation sector -5% -the total Population of Sri Lanka lives
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LABOUR AND WAGES
Wages in the plantation sector
workers and the management remained as “semi-bonded labour“
2011, raised the plantation daily wage from 405 to 515 rupees
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CHILD LABOUR
Literacy rate in the plantation sector
37% - plantation children are in workforce
contravening the rights of the children : in international covenants :CRC, ICERC and CERD
Education : potential threat to the labour supply
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NEGLECTED HEALTH FACILITIES
Health in the plantation sector
• no occupational health and safety measures
• pesticides - no safety measures• no proper medical facilities• no health literacy • sexual harassment
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UNIONS VS FEMALE WORKERS
women workers in the plantation
unions are dominated by male leaderswomen do most of the tea plucking 10-12 hrsNo equal payNo structured hours of work and No work rightsno opportunity for female union leaders.No understanding : needs of the women
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PHYSICAL VERBAL AND SEXUAL
Violence and harassment
violence sexual harassment
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SYSTEMS NEEDED
Recommendations…….
constitutional guarantee to ensure that the people and children of the plantation community enjoy their basic rights
politicians and government should implement administrative reforms aiming to achieve social inclusion of the plantation Tamils
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SYSTEMS NEEDED
Recommendations…….
Literacy programmes on citizenship basics, legal and voting rights
Appropriate health education programmes
Contd…..
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SYSTEMS NEEDED
Recommendations……
Need for a special authority with empathy to address the issues such as women’s rights and human rights affecting the Plantation Tamil community
monthly wage system - includes medical assistance /allowances /insurances
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SYSTEMS NEEDED
Recommendations……
special health service
Child protection measures
identify issues in relation to the children and address breaches of international covenants
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HOUSING
Recommendations……
Needs improved living conditions :proper housing schemes with sanitation facilities.
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D R C H A N D R I K A S U B R A M A N I Y A NM A M P H I L P H D L L B L L M M A I C D
S O L I C I T O R A N D B A R R I S T E R( S U P R E M E C O U R T O F N S W A N D H I G H C O U R T O F A U S T R A L I A )
M E D I A T O R – A U S T R A L I A
A R B I T R A T O R & M E D I A T O R – K U A L A L U M P U R
A R B I T R A T O R I N D I A N C O U N C I L O F A R B I T R A T A T I O N
THANK YOU