Reed workers, under the banner of the Self-Employed Women’s Association – Union (SEWA-Union), held a protest in front of the Secretariat recently seeking a resolution to the problems in the sector.
The reed workers demanded that the government take steps to restart operations of the Kerala State Bamboo Corporation urgently and reopen its depots, bamboo mats lying finished in their homes be procured, and their wages, welfare allowance, and bonus be paid before Onam.
They alleged that for the past six months, the operations of the Kerala State Bamboo Corporation were nearly at a standstill. It was learnt that this was owing to a lapse in payment of tax. This seriously affected the people employed in the sector. Lack of bamboo availability often results in the depots closing down. The workers had permission to get reed only from the bamboo corporation. Earlier, they used to get passes to cut reeds from forests. This had now been restricted only to very few people who lived in proximity to the forests. Even for that permission of the Forest department was needed to cut reed each time. Also, they had to pay ₹52 for each bundle of reed collected.
