Kerala: Houseboat sector may witness unrest

ALAPPUZHA: The houseboat sector here is headed for unrest after one of the five associations of houseboat owners signed a new salary package with the Kerala Houseboat and Resort Workers Union (CITU) on Wednesday. The other associations refused to sign any agreement and the workers have warned of agitations in the coming days.

45 owners signed new contract with the union according to which, a worker will get Rs 12,000 basic salary, an increase of Rs 1600 from Rs 10,400, and Rs 290 daily bata, a hike of Rs 40. They will get five-day leave every month. The union had demanded at least Rs 15, 000 basic salary and Rs 375 bata.  The union also withdrew the strike planned from Thursday. As many as 324 owners are against the contract.

Mr K. Jayavijayan, general secretary, All-Kerala Houseboat Owners' Association (AKHOA), refused to accept the new contract.  "The federation is the association of high-end boat owners and can pay the high tariff. But the common houseboat owners cannot do it," he said.

The federation said the employees had been given only 15.6 percent increment this time compared to 22.5 percent last time. A federation office-bearer told DC that the previous increment was Rs 1, 900. "We signed the agreement after the tourism minister and district collector intervened in the matter. The rest of the owners should implement it," he said.

The union said that the other boat owners should implement the contract.  "Salary hike is our right and we will fight for it," said P.K. Sajeev Kumar, general secretary of the union, which has 3,000 registered members.

Their 27-month contract had to be renewed by April and the workers had demanded at least Rs 15,000 as salary and Rs 375 as bata. The salary was hiked from Rs 8,500 to Rs 10,400 in 2014 following the intervention of district administration and the then tourism minister A.P. Anilkumar.

The Inland Vessels Act, 2010 stipulates that each cruising houseboat should have at least three workers - two lascars and  one syrang.  As many as 1,200 houseboats are currently plying in the Vembanad lake. But half of them are operating without proper registration and pollution certificates.