Shyamala, a 57-year-old cashew worker at an export unit in Puthuchira, will be retiring next year after 17 years of service. But the Vettilathazham resident — a heart-patient, widow, and a mother of two — says she doesn’t want to call it quits yet. She earns Rs 1,510 per week for grading cashews and is eligible for ESI medical benefits while on the firm’s payroll, and wants to work as long as her health permits. Shyamala and her 119 colleagues are a happy lot as, fortunately, they get work daily.
Is she interested in politics? “Oh yes! When polls are round the corner, the candidates come to us,” Shyamala is quick to reply. “I don’t have any leaning towards a particular party. I vote depending on the quality of the candidate and whether X or Y is approachable for a person like me with regard to some issue,” she adds in a guarded tone.
With the Kollam Lok Sabha constituency having around two lakh cashew worker families, candidates are making a beeline to the private cashew factories like the one in Puthuchira. At the same time, the situation of the workers is quite different at the government-run Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation’s factory number six — a packing and filling centre — at Ayathil. Despite having 569 employees, only the grading section is functioning as this reporter walks into the premises spread over nearly six acres of prime land on NH 66. And to think the factory started in 1972 once had close to 2,000 employees!
Unlike in the private cashew factories, the employees cut a sorry figure. A majority of them get only a week’s work every month. Says a teary-eyed V Sindhu, 52, “My husband is a cancer patient and has gone blind in one eye. He also suffers from kidney stones. I don’t have the required annual attendance of 180 days, which means I can’t avail ESI benefits. Fortunately, the officials at an adalat heard me considerately and helped get the benefits.”
Since 2009, the Kollam constituency has evaded the LDF ever since Congress’ N Peethambara Kurup snatched the seat from the CPM. This time, the UDF has reposed trust in sitting MP N K Premachandran while the LDF has fielded the current Kollam MLA, actor Mukesh. The NDA has pitted another actor, Krishnakumar, to try and gain a foothold in the constituency.
If most cashew workers are a worried lot, things are not that scary for the handloom workers. On the eve of the new financial year, 15 handloom workers of Mulluvila Handlooms at Vadakkevila are on cloud nine as they got their salary dues for six months. Their joy knew no bounds when their bank accounts were credited with their production incentive as well. Overnight, some of them got richer by around `32,000. Relief was writ large across their faces.
Saritha Rajan, secretary, Mulluvila Handlooms, couldn’t conceal her excitement over the government coming to their support. “I was confident the government would pay our dues as promised,” says Saritha.
Though Kollam is known for cashew and coir, it’s in the coastal belt where you get a real feel of the approaching election. At the busy Neendakara harbour, a close-knit group of middle-aged women are chatting over the day’s developments. In between, their gazes drift towards the sea, as they await the return of fishing boats with the day’s catch.
Talking about their expectations from the Lok Sabha polls, Jessy John, in her early 50s, gets animated and is unsparing in her criticism of politicians.
“Be it Left or Right who wins, fisherfolk like us don’t get any benefits. Our lives have always been like the lotus, struggling to stay afloat in the sea. While we live in penury, these leaders and their associates thrive. So far, not a single leader in the district has come here seeking our support. Let them come here. I will give them a piece of my mind,” Jessy fumes.
When the huge boat neared the harbour, a group of fishermen jumped into a small boat to reach the landing. An elderly man, in his 60s, shares, “With the scorching summer, there are no fish in the sea. What we get is anchovy. Has the government been doing anything for us on lean days like these?”
On whether he would refrain from casting his vote in protest against the state government, he quipped, “I’m a responsible citizen, I ensure that I cast my vote without fail.”
“I do have politics. But my vote is to that front which stands by the poor,” adds a fisherman gearing up to leave for the deep sea, hope springing eternal of good times.