The earnings determination mechanism with respect to rubber tappers in Peninsular Malaysia in the pre and post-union eras
| dc.contributor.author | S. Gopal, Parthiban | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2017-08-01T08:19:16Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2017-08-01T08:19:16Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2006-06 | |
| dc.description.abstract | This study seeks to better understand the earnings determining mechanism of rubber tappers in the pre and post-union eras in Peninsular Malaysia. It found that in the pre-union era, the prevailing wage rate in the South Indian village economy formed the basis for determining the payment to estate workers in Malaya. The colonial authorities added a small premium to the village wage rate to make emigration to Malaya attractive. How this premium was computed and the actual wage rate paid to estate workers in Malaya prior to 1884 is unclear. But from then on until 1910, Indian Immigration laws determined the minimum rates payable, though the basis for the rates is not known. From 1910-1923, there was no government control and wage determination remained the prerogative of individual groups of planters. In 1923, a formal wage setting machinery emerged with the Indian Immigration Committee being empowered to fix standard wage rates in areas it thought fit. Composed of government appointees and representatives of planters, the Agent of the Government of India represented the sole voice of labour. Upward revisions of wages were meagre and motivated solely by cost of living arguments-not the prosperity of the rubber industry. Wage fixing was virtually abandoned in the 1930s and tappers were at the mercy of their employers again. To keep the estate wage rate low, the authorities increased the inflow of immigrant labour during periods of high labour demand in Malaya while in periods of low demand workers were repatriated. In the post-union era, collective bargaining yielded creditable improvements in earnings and fringe benefits to rubber tappers, despite the relatively weak position of the Union and a restrictive bargaining environment. Nonetheless, the earnings of rubber tappers are relatively low and remain vulnerable to cost of living increases. Among the improvements suggested are:{i) raising the fixed component of the wage system (provided a pre-agreed task size is met) to protect workers against factors beyond their control; (ii) restructuring the yield incentive such that it increases in a fixed relationship with rubber price; (iii) introducing a bonus-style prosperity sharing mechanism to give workers a fairer share; (iv) providing annual increments in the basic wage rate to reward years of continuous (satisfactory) service so as to compensate for the problem of declining earnings faced by aging workers; (v) providing housing allowance for all members (instead of just one member) of a working household without accommodation and (vi) making it a statutory requirement for employers in industries with low earnings to make separate cost of living payments when the rate of inflation exceeds a prescribed or pre-agreed threshold. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/4283 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Universiti Sains Malaysia | en_US |
| dc.subject | The earnings of rubber tappers | en_US |
| dc.title | The earnings determination mechanism with respect to rubber tappers in Peninsular Malaysia in the pre and post-union eras | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
Files
License bundle
1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
- Name:
- license.txt
- Size:
- 1.71 KB
- Format:
- Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
- Description: