Unlike employment in agriculture, plantations are usually living-cum-working places where the planters have to provide cradle-to-grave welfare schemes which in the normal course are governmental functions. Despite of this fact the plantations are not attractive any more as a place for employment. They are isolated in their plantations, bound by low wages and poor working conditions. Their problems are rarely focused in newspapers or journals nor discussed at workers' forums. Neither the mainstream labour union movement nor the government has given much importance to this section of the...