Poverty in the Estate Sector: has it turned the corner?
Description
By K. Romeshun and Priyanthi Fernando
On 07 May 2015
The 2009/10 Household Expenditure and Income Survey (HIES) reported a drastic reduction in poverty amongst the estate population. The survey reported that the percentage of poor households in the estate sector reduced from a high of 32 percent in 2006 to 11 percent in 2009/10 (Table 1). Collective agreement negotiations between the trade unions and plantation companies led to a near 100 percent increase in daily wages in 2009, and this is likely to have contributed to this substantial reduction in poverty figures. Even then, , the average income/ expenditure of estate sector households continue to remain lower than national averages and other sectors of the economy.
Table 1: Poverty Headcount Ratio
| 2012/3* | Mean (Rs) | ||||||||
| 1990/91 | 1995/96 | 2002 | 2006/07 | 2009/10 | 2012/3 | Income | Expenditure | ||
| National | 26% | 29% | 23% | 15% | 9% | 6.7% | 46,207 | 40,887 | |
| Urban | 16% | 14% | 8% | 7% | 5% | 2.1% | 68,336 | 59,001 | |
| Rural | 30% | 31% | 25% | 16% | 9% | 7.6% | 42,184 | 37,591 | |
| Estate | 21% | 38% | 30% | 32% | 11% | 10.9% | 31,895 | 29,779 |
* based on survey of July – September 2012 (first quarter of the survey)
Source: Department of Census and Statistics (2013). Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2012/13 – Preliminary Report (2013), Colombo; & Department of Census and Statistics (2014). Poverty Headcount Ratio Brief: Decomposition of Consumption Poverty, Colombo
But poverty is multi-dimensional. The HIES gathers data on a number of issues other than income/ expenditure such as housing, drinking water, sanitation facilities and education. The data on these factors indicate that the estate community, in comparison to the other communities in Sri Lanka, is indeed more vulnerable.
Estate sector families live in houses provided by the estates, rent free, if one family member works in the estate. Whilst this reduces the expenditure of the household (in comparison to urban households) and increases disposable income, living in poor quality line rooms does stigmatize and alienate them from the rest of the society. In addition, relative to the rest of the households in Sri Lanka, estate households report lower access to toilets exclusive to the household and access to drinking water within the premises (Table 2). They also appear to perceive that the quality of water they drink is relatively unsafe.
Compared to the rural and urban sectors, the estate community has a low educational attainment. In a country where education is key to coming out of poverty, the lower educational attainment makes people from the estates less eligible for participating in technical and vocational job related training and/ or jobs and is likely to create long-term vulnerability.
Table 2: Other Indicators of Development
| Own house | Housing line rooms or shanties | More than one bed room | Drinking water within premises | Toilet exclusive to the household | Safe Drinking Water | Education passed GCE (A/L) and above | |
| National | 86.1% | 5.5% | 79.2% | 81.2% | 89.8% | 88.7% | 12.0% |
| Urban | 81.2% | 5.0% | 78.1% | 92.0% | 88.6% | 98.7% | 19.7% |
| Rural | 91.5% | 2.7% | 81.0% | 79.6% | 90.8% | 89.0% | 10.9% |
| Estate | 8.2%* | 56.9% | 51.6% | 67.4% | 75.9% | 43.2% | 2.1% |
*72.7% however report that they stay rent free in the house
Source: Department of Census and Statistics (2013). Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2012/13 – Preliminary Report, Colombo
The evidence suggests that despite the fact that the poverty head count has reduced in the estate sector, the estate community has not turned the corner, and poverty in its various manifestations is still a reality. Development partners need to recognize that there is still considerable work to be done with the estate community before the women, and men in that community are able to mobilize themselves to move into a less deprived, and more equal position in Sri Lankan society.
Originally published in the Island