Plantation labour mobility: a historical observation
1991
Ramasamy, P. (Kebangsaan Malaysia Univ., Bangi, Selangor (Malaysia). Fakulti Sains Kemasyarakatan dan Kemanusiaan, Jabatan Sains Politik)
British colonialism in Malaya among other things saw the formation of large plantations and the importance of labor from South India. To realise absolute surplus value, plantation capital organized under the aegis of merchant capital, placed a number of obstacles in the way of labour mobility and freedom. The rise in consciousness among plantation labour in the 1930s and 1940s led to class conflict between labour and capital. The declaration of an emergency rule in 1948 weakened the spirit and strength of plantation labour under the leadership of the Communist Party of Malaya. As a result of the declaration of an emergency rule and the implementation of the colonial policy of moderate trade unionism, the labour movement in the plantations could not play a positive role in the welfare of labour. Presently, plantation labour under the leadership of the conservative and traditional National Union of Plantation Workers (NUPW) faces a number of problems. It appears that the Union places more importance on the to maintain good industrial relations rather than to champion the welfare and future of its members
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