Menaha Kandasamy

Social Scientists Association

Pamphlet No. 06

From Plantations to Domestic Labour

The New Form of Exploitation and Political Marginalization of Women

Social Scientists Association 2014

ISBN 978-955-0762-27-9

Published bySocial Scientists Association 12, Sulaiman Terrace, Colombo 5, Sri Lanka.Tel: +94-11-2501339 / 2504623 www.ssalanka.org

Printed by World Vision Graphics 077 2928907

1From Plantations to Domestic Labour The NewFrom Plantations to Domestic Labour The NewFrom Plantations to Domestic Labour The NewFrom Plantations to Domestic Labour The NewFrom Plantations to Domestic Labour The NewForm of Exploitation and Political MarginalizationForm of Exploitation and Political MarginalizationForm of Exploitation and Political MarginalizationForm of Exploitation and Political MarginalizationForm of Exploitation and Political Marginalization

of Wof Wof Wof Wof Womenomenomenomenomen

A phenomenon of relatively recent origin that has notbeen studied in depth is the significant movement of womenfrom the plantation sector into domestic work in urban and otherareas, as well as their migration to the Middle East. Thismovement of labour has not entailed an upward mobility oflabour, but represents a horizontal move from one form ofcaptive labour on plantations to another as domestic labour inhouseholds. In doing so, whereas some gains are possible, theremay occur a serious denial of economic and political rights thatironically they had obtained after nearly a century of struggleon the plantations.

A subject attracting only occasional attention in the press or elsewhere is that of domestic workers in Sri Lanka in general. This is a scattered, unorganized and isolated part of the labour force which has little legal protection and often suffers severe restraints on democratic rights. Many of the benefits applicable to other workers such as gratuities, provident funds and trade union rights do not cover those in domestic service. They are also denied minimum wages, and the conditions and hours of work, vacation and maternity leave, which other workers possess, are not stipulated. This group of workers form one of the most exploited groups in society, to whom the benefits under the labour laws often do not apply.

This pamphlet examines briefly the situation of domesticworkers in the past in Sri Lanka, and discusses the specific caseof the move by young plantation women into urban domesticservice. It highlights the case for these workers unionization,

2and refers to the recent founding of a trade union for domesticworkers. It also cites some of the analyses by scholars abroad onthe issue of domestic work and suggests the need for more suchresearch in Sri Lanka. The basic proposition of this pamphlet isthat by moving from the plantation sector to domestic labour,women have relocated from one form of exploitation to another from one form of patriarchy to another, from the frying paninto the fire.

Appoo, 19th-century domestichelper. Courtesy R.K. de Silva andKumari Jayawardena, PictorialImpressions of Early Colonial SriLanka, 2014, p. 122.

Ellas Ayah, 19th-century domestichelper. Courtesy R.K. de Silva andKumari Jayawardena, PictorialImpressions of Early Colonial SriLanka, 2014, p. 136.

3Part IPart IPart IPart IPart I

Domestic Labour the BackgroundDomestic Labour the BackgroundDomestic Labour the BackgroundDomestic Labour the BackgroundDomestic Labour the BackgroundOne of the oldest professions in the world is that of domesticlabour whereby household chores are farmed out to non-familymembers. Domestic work is associated historically with servitudeunder slavery and feudalism, while under capitalism such workbecame more akin to wage labour. Feudal attitudes to domesticworkers, however, have tended to persist. But in todays contextof global capitalism, domestic work has taken on a new face. Itis part of the international network of exploitation in the formof the export of labour from developing countries to richerones. The income of these migrants mainly women forms animportant part of the Sri Lankas foreign exchange earnings.However, these workers have no right to vote in their homecountries , a situation on which there has been some agitation.

Domestic work has always been one of the mostexploitative and oppressive forms of labour, characterized bylow wages, gratuities or economic benefits, no fixed hours ofwork or leave and few political rights. Such labour is notorganized, or unionized, and usually involves residing at theemployers home. In many countries domestic labour is recruitedfrom the impoverished peasantry, the urban poor or frommigrant labour. It remains one of the least desirable forms ofoccupation and only attracts those who lack the education skillsor opportunities to do better jobs. Domestic workers remaintherefore on the margins of society, and Sri Lanka is no exception.Their political rights are often nonexistent and such workersseldom receive leave to go to their villages/homes to cast theirvotes. What is more, even if these workers receive relatively goodpay, because of the social stigma associated with domestic workthey hesitate to acknowledge or publicize the fact that they areservants.

4Domestic service of outsiders by the family has always

been in existence in Sri Lanka among the higher echelons ofsociety of all communities. In classic literature and in muralsthere is inevitably a portrayal of domestics. For example in thepopular 15th century classic Kavyasekera, a Brahmin advises hisdaughter to wash her husbands feet herself when he returnshome rather than delegate the task to servants. By the 16th

century the Portuguese colonizers of Sri Lanka used slaves asdomestic servants, many of them from their African colonies,who continued to work after Dutch occupation of the maritimeprovinces. During British rule, Percival Cordiner commentedin the early 19th century on the difficulty of procuring servantsfrom among the natives and noted that: The Dutch settlers inCeylon use no other servants but slaves, a family of whom alwayscomposes part of their household (1807:80-81). He also statedthat British residents who had earlier worked in India for thesake of comfort and convenience carried their (Indian) domesticswith them (Cordiner quoted in Denham 1912:48). In 1871 thecolonial government passed the Registration of Domestic ServantsOrdinance which merely provided for official registration booksfor servants issued by a government-appointed registrar, butno stipulation about wages and conditions of work.

By 1911, according to the Census Report of that year, thelow-country Sinhalese in domestic service formed half of all maledomestic servants and three-fourths of all female servants. Thesecond highest group of males in domestic service were IndianTamils (gardeners, housekeepers and house servants) (Ibid.:489).They were either more skilled workers from estates or from theurban Indian-Tamil working class.

Domestic labour in the early 20th century also includedKandyan Sinhalese, Ceylon Tamils, Moors, Malays, Burghers andEurasians. Pay varied according to the class of employees andthe work performed. In rural areas, landowners and prosperouspersons would employ numerous poverty-stricken villagers and

5members of their families as domestic servants. The practiceamong the poor of giving children ostensibly for adoption, butactually as child servants, was also prevalent throughout theisland.

Highlighting the ProblemHighlighting the ProblemHighlighting the ProblemHighlighting the ProblemHighlighting the ProblemThere was publicity in the Sri Lankan newspapers of ill treatmentof domestic labour, and the issue of exploitation of women andchildren domestics became a topic of discussion in the 1920sleading to the State Council appointing, in 1934, a Sub-Committeechaired by D.B. Jayatilake on the Employment (DomesticService) of Women and Children and the Control ofOrphanages. While the official report glossed over the problems,in a dissenting report the only leftist member of the State Council(who was on this Sub-Committee) Dr S.A. Wickremasinghe saidthat: The employment of children for domestic purposes is mostinhuman, and he condemned the system of child slavery. Healso referred to the prevalent poverty in the country and theexistence of an enormous supply of domestic servants in spiteof low wages, long and unlimited hours of work, drudgery,and added that this was an indication of the extreme economicinstability of the people (Sessional Paper 11 of 1935:9).

Jayawardena has remarked that in the past, women of theSinhalese, Tamil and Muslim bourgeoisie were able to sustaintheir extravagant life-styles, because of the existence of a host ofunderpaid servants, mainly women and often children, notingalso that in the case of the Mudaliyars, the exploitation of femaleservants was feudal in practice being often recruited fromamong the depressed caste girls of the villages near the ruralmanor houses (2000:294). Writing of her elite relatives of theBandaranaike clan, Yasmine Gooneratne notes that: Nohousehold such as ours could have functioned for a day withoutthe Jane Nonas, the Alices, Carolines and the Magilins wholent their skills with needle, broom, iron, wash-tub, and frying

6pan. She also comments on the treatment of servants whichranged from kindness and indifference to downright brutality (including) brandings, burnings, assault, and unwantedpregnancies (1986:214-16, 221).

Recent Recent Recent Recent Recent AgitationAgitationAgitationAgitationAgitationWhile wages for domestic labour have fluctuated, these workerscontinue to form the unorganized, low-paid sector of theeconomy. From time to time the conditions of domestic labourhave been taken up by concerned groups. In 2007 the WomensEducation and Research Centre (WERC) had discussions ondomestic labour and made recommendations to the minister ofLabour on the need to regulate their employment.

Newspapers and writers have regularly, over manydecades, highlighted instances of assaults, torture and murderof domestic workers and the illegal employment of underagechildren. Recently the Sunday Island column Gender Mattersnoted that domestic workers:

Provide an essential service in our increasingly nuclear householdswhere both partners work, but have minimum recognition aspart of the countrys work force. (Sunday Island, 17 March 2013:9)

They are called by many politically incorrect names (cookwoman, servant girl, kolla, kella, podian), and whether in Sinhalaor Tamil the terms used to address domestic workers are oftendemeaning, the umb/nee forms being still in usage. Umba(Sinhala), nee (Tamil) is the second person singular form (similarto tu in French) for children, animals and familiar friends, andis also an insult when used with strangers, minorities or thepoor. One may note that the employer (as in slave society) wouldoften change the birth name of the domestic worker if it was toohigh sounding to a more appropriate plebian name.

7ResearResearResearResearResearching Domestic Wching Domestic Wching Domestic Wching Domestic Wching Domestic WorkersorkersorkersorkersorkersWith expansion in the demand for domestic labour in developedcountries, feminist researchers have in recent years explored thisissue. Gabrielle Meagher has defined this labour as wageddomestic labour or paid household work involving cleaning,cooking, laundry, child care, household management etcperformed for payment, usually to replace otherwise unpaidhousehold labour (1997:23). She defines two features of suchwork, namely, the direct purchase of labour time, rather thanlabour-embodying commodities (prepared food, ready-madeclothing, labour-saving devices), as well as work performed inthe home of the purchasing householder (Ibid.).

The paradox of domestic service has been referred to byMary Romero in her book Maid in the USA as involving workconsidered degrading, but also possibly higher paying than someother unskilled occupations (1992:12, cited in Meagher 1997:24).She also comments on the class relationship that occurs when amiddle-class woman farms out her household chores to a paidworker often from a subordinate ethnic group who relievesher of the sexist burden of housework (Ibid.).

Writers on domestic labour highlight the private nature ofthis labour where the rules are different from other jobs,especially since such workers lack the ability or power to negotiateagreements about their conditions of work. Moreover thesubordination and deference associated with domestic work arecharacterized not only by class exploitation but also by race andgender subordination. In this connection Meagher refers to theimportance of analyzing the occupation in terms of theinteraction of ethnicity, class and gender (1997:2).

Similar to factories, shops and plantations, the home thusbecomes a location of employment. A question that arisesconcerns the nature of work that involves residence in theemployer s home a situation which embodies severalpatriarchal and semi-feudal aspects. A further question that often

8arises is how domestic work can be categorized. Such issues areraised in this pamphlet in order to analyze the phenomenon ofyoung women in the plantation sector moving from one formof exploitation as plantation labour to another as domestic labourin areas outside the plantations.

Image Courtesy of Middle East Onlinehttp://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=38695

Image Courtesy of The Islandhttp://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-

details&page=article-details&code_title=74891

9Part IIPart IIPart IIPart IIPart II

Plantation WPlantation WPlantation WPlantation WPlantation Workers in Domestic Workers in Domestic Workers in Domestic Workers in Domestic Workers in Domestic WorkorkorkorkorkIn Sri Lanka the nationalized plantations were privatized andhanded over to 23 companies. Earlier, the practice on most estateswas for young people born on plantations to register their nameswith the management in order to start to work on the plantations.But after privatization this process was slowed down leading tounemployment among plantation youth. Many young personsmoved from the plantations looking for jobs in cities and abroad.Young men found work as shop assistants and waiters, whileyoung women found work in garment factories or as domesticworkers.

Those who found employment as domestic workers areoften isolated from their own families and communities. Thereis no legal protection for these workers. Domestic work is aservice industry, but there are no unions that bargain for bettersalaries and regulation of working conditions. Therefore, thevalue of the work is grossly underestimated as they are notconsidered to be workers. As they work in very isolated situations,their problems are also invisible. Domestic workers are also notaware of the labour market nor are they able to negotiate for afairer wage and better conditions.

Several countries in Asia continue to export domesticworkers (mainly women) to the Middle East and other East Asiancountries. Much has been written and researched about theworking conditions of these workers and the exploitation theyare subjected to. On the other hand, the plight of domesticworkers working in Sri Lanka has not been adequatelyresearched or documented.

BrokersBrokersBrokersBrokersBrokersNormally recruitment for domestic work occurs through brokers,who are themselves from the plantation sector. These are mostly

10men but sometimes the main male broker has sub-brokers whomay be female. As one worker remarked:

A person who sends the workers to Colombo from our estate fordomestic work gets my first months salary as a commission andalso I noticed the employer paid him some money the day he leftme in the house.

Some brokers do not give details of the workplace to thedomestic workers family, but give the workers salary to theparents or family members. Some workers claim that they donot know their work place, address and other details, and arenot aware how much salary they earn. Only the brokers knowthese details.

Research has confirmed that few households employingplantation women workers give them leave to go home to vote.Rarely are they listed as voters in the places they work asdomestic labour. One can cite an example from 1936, when acandidate in the Colombo South electorate breached the usualprotocol and caused a stir by asking householders, whilecanvassing, if he could also speak to their servants to canvasstheir vote (Jayawardena 2012:100).

Moreover political rights such as trade union membershipwhich exists on plantations are unavailable to domestic labour;the reason is that such labour is often of a semi-feudal nature,unlike plantation workers who today are technically free afterwork to participate in political and other activities. Residentdomestic labour in contrast is tied to the place of work day andnight.

EducationEducationEducationEducationEducationThe level of education of domestic workers from the plantationsector is generally low. Mostly girls and women who never wentto school or who could not continue school for various reasons

11become domestic workers. This is the job where no one asksabout experience in cooking or cleaning. It is assumed that if aworker is a woman, then she can do housework without anyproblem. Since formal education is not required for domesticlabour, young girls who do not want to work on plantations orworkers who have retired choose to move to domestic work.

ILO Convention on Domestic WILO Convention on Domestic WILO Convention on Domestic WILO Convention on Domestic WILO Convention on Domestic WorkersorkersorkersorkersorkersThe Convention on Domestic Workers (No. 189) was adopted atthe International Labour Organizations 100th annual conferencein June 2011. It requires governments to protect the human andlabour rights of domestic workers and defines minimumstandards for decent working conditions. The ILO estimates thatthere are 52.6 million domestic workers, of whom 43.6 millionare women. Recognizing that domestic workers often sufferextreme hardship and human rights violations, includingpayment below the statutory minimum wage with no overtimepay or rest days, the ILO adopted this long-overdue Conventionunder which a domestic worker is defined as follows.

(a) The term domestic workdomestic workdomestic workdomestic workdomestic work means work performed in orfor a household or households;(b) The term domestic workerdomestic workerdomestic workerdomestic workerdomestic worker means any person engagedin domestic work within an employment relationship;(c) A person who performs domestic work occasionally orsporadically and not on an occupational basis is not a domesticworker.

The Convention on Domestic Workers offers specific protectionto domestic workers, lays down basic rights and principles, andrequires states to take a series of measures with a view to makingdecent work a reality for domestic workers. Article 7 states thatDomestic workers must be informed of their terms and

12conditions of employment. This Convention has so far not beenratified by Sri Lanka.

What is special about What is special about What is special about What is special about What is special about Article 7 of the Convention?Article 7 of the Convention?Article 7 of the Convention?Article 7 of the Convention?Article 7 of the Convention?Sri Lanka is a member of the ILO. Therefore, the state shouldtake measures to ensure that domestic workers are informed oftheir terms and conditions of employment in an appropriate,verifiable and easily understandable manner and preferably,where possible, through written contracts in accordance withnational laws, regulations or collective agreements, in particularincluding:

(a) the name and address of the employer and of theworker;(b) the address of the usual workplace or workplaces;(c) the starting date and, where the contract is for a specifiedperiod of time, its duration;(d) the type of work to be performed;(e) the remuneration, method of calculation and periodicityof payments;(f) the normal hours of work;(g) paid annual leave, and daily and weekly rest periods;(h) the provision of food and accommodation, if applicable;(i) the period of probation or trial period, if applicable;(j) the terms of repatriation, if applicable; and(k) terms and conditions relating to the termination ofemployment, including any period of notice by either thedomestic worker or the employer.

Why is Why is Why is Why is Why is Article 5 so important?Article 5 so important?Article 5 so important?Article 5 so important?Article 5 so important?Its importance is connected with protecting workers from abuse.Governments are therefore urged to enforce the necessarylegislation. Article 5 states:

13Each Member shall take measures to ensure that domestic workersenjoy effective protection against all forms of abuse, harassmentand violence.

What are the things domestic workers need to take intoWhat are the things domestic workers need to take intoWhat are the things domestic workers need to take intoWhat are the things domestic workers need to take intoWhat are the things domestic workers need to take intoconsideration?consideration?consideration?consideration?consideration?Before entering employment, they should agree with the termsof employment, which should include:

Job and the tasks the job involves, hours of work and rest Employer s name, telephone number and address ofemployment Salary and date of payment Number of holidays per year Paid sick leave and other leave such as emergency leave Terms for communication between/within the family Space for sleeping and resting Right to join a union

In 2008 the Red Flag Womens Movement, which is thewomens section of the Ceylon Workers Union, organized atrade union meeting to lobby for a legal draft for the protectionof domestic workers. As a result of this meeting, ten trade unionssigned a document that set out the problems of domestic workersand the need for legal reform and recognition.

Why is there a need for legal reform and recognition?Why is there a need for legal reform and recognition?Why is there a need for legal reform and recognition?Why is there a need for legal reform and recognition?Why is there a need for legal reform and recognition? Domestic workers do not fall within the purview of thelegislative framework in Sri Lanka. The laws, which provide the legal framework for therecognition and protection of workers in the privateemployment sector, do not recognize domestic workers aspart of the formal workforce, thereby not providing anyframework of protection and rights for them.

14 Stemming from this lack of legislative framework fordomestic workers, there are no reported court cases orjudgments that deal with any form of issue or incidentinvolving domestic workers. As such, the legal literature doesnot recognize domestic workers as legal entities. Further, the laws that apply to Sri Lankan domesticworkers working in other countries, drawn up in the SriLanka Bureau of Foreign Employment Act, should also applyto domestic workers working in Sri Lanka. As a result domestic workers are not protected by labourlaws, in relation to legal binding contracts, equal wageregulations and decent working conditions, and are notafforded safety and protection from exploitation and abuse.

It is therefore imperative that legislative andIt is therefore imperative that legislative andIt is therefore imperative that legislative andIt is therefore imperative that legislative andIt is therefore imperative that legislative andadministrative attention is focussed on:administrative attention is focussed on:administrative attention is focussed on:administrative attention is focussed on:administrative attention is focussed on:

Legal recognition of domestic workers in Sri Lanka asworkers in the formal labour force Ensure that domestic workers are protected by all labourlaws and decent work principles Implement compulsory contracts, minimum wagepolicies and safety networks for domestic workers that holdemployers accountable through the enforcement of such bythe Department of Labour.

VVVVVoices of Woices of Woices of Woices of Woices of Women Domestic Women Domestic Women Domestic Women Domestic Women Domestic WorkersorkersorkersorkersorkersThe experience of domestic workers varies, as one of themremarked:

I am lucky to have this employer. The house where I am workingthey treat me like their daughter. They pay my agreed salary ontime. They allow me to talk to my family regularly. I am allowed towatch TV. I am living more peacefully in my work place than Iwould at home.

15

(based on interviews with domestic works of plantation origin)

Case StudyCase StudyCase StudyCase StudyCase StudyI am 31 years old and have been working for 19 years as adomestic worker. When I was small I thought that if I studiedwell I could be a teacher. But my fathers death made my lifedifficult. I was nine years old when I lost my father. My mothertold me, I am sad that you cant continue your studies. I askedher, Why cant I? She answered, We dont have your fathersincome now. So you are the elder one in our family. We bothneed to look after our family. At that time it was not a big issuefor me. I started to help my mother. I went with her to the fieldwithout the knowledge of the Kangani and plucked tea toincrease my mothers plucking weight and went back to myhouse early to do all the cleaning and washing. It is so difficultto wash my brothers shirt because he always plays in the mud.I have to wash it three times to clean it. The brother next to mealways complains about me to my mother. My mother neverasks me if what he says is true. I always get the scolding andbeating. I did not enjoy my childhood at all. When I was 13years old, my mother asked me to go and work in a businessmanshouse that is closer to Kandy. I did not like to leave home but Iunderstood that my mother was also sick and she was not earningmuch to feed the family.

Domestic Workers Good Experiences Domestic Workers Bad Experiences The employer treats me like his/her child. I have to sleep in the kitchen. After I get up I

keep all my sleeping things in the kitchen. I am so happy that I eat the same food that the employers family eats.

I have to work even if I am sick. They cannot understand that a sick person cannot work.

If I am sick, they buy medicine for me and ask me to take a rest.

I am not allowed inside the house, only in the kitchen, but when they need to clean the house I am allowed in.

They buy new clothes for me for the festival. I have to beg to get my salary. Always there is a 2-4 day delay in payment.

They allow me to watch television. I have flexible working hours.

I was promised Rs. 6,000 a month but I get only Rs. 3,000.

They increase my salary every year. They do not allow me to communicate with my family directly.

16After I started my job as a domestic worker I faced a

lot of problems in that house. There was no proper place tosleep. I worked for more than 13 hours. I had to cook for notonly one family but also five men who are working in theirshop. They never called me by my name Mala, but kella (girl).Because of some problem I faced with that employer I wasuneasy in that house. When I was 15 years old, I came backhome. My mother was unhappy that I came back. I do notlike to tell my mother what happened in that house.

I found another workplace in Kandy and again startedmy work. The same problems continued. They agreed to pay6,000/= but paid 3,000/= the first three months and told methey were deducting my meal expenditure from my salary.They said dont worry when you go back home for a holidaywe will pay the arrears. It never happened. They said thissame thing every year when I went home but the arrears werenever paid. Even some months they skip payment. If I am sickthey buy medicine and deduct this cost from my wage. I gotused to this practice. Now I have no big expectations. Nowmy brothers are all grown up, they are earning and are lookingafter themselves. I also lost my mother four years ago.

ConclusionConclusionConclusionConclusionConclusionThe plantation system of production in the colonial period wasinitially modeled on slavery, which already existed in householdsin Europe. Subsequent changes such as indentured labour (oncontract) and often forms of recruitment for plantation have beentermed new systems of slavery (Kurian and Jayawardena,forthcoming). These observations were based on the captivefeatures of the labour force in the plantations in the 19th andearly 20th centuries, characterized in Sri Lanka by trespass lawsagainst outsiders, lack of mobility of workers, isolation fromurban labour, harsh and cruel laws restricting bolting fromestates, violent management practices and patriarchal control ofwomen workers. Given this slave-type legacy have the structures

17on plantations changed? Why are there still aspirations amongworkers to move out of the plantations to what they feel is afreer type of work situation in urban areas?

This pamphlet attempts to raise these issues and asks certain basic questions about whether the new type of bolting from the estate to domestic labour has improved the situation of young women of plantation background. Are these domestic workers the new captive labour force, hidden from public scrutiny like other domestic workers? This is clearly a time for exposure and changes in this old system of semi-slavery in the form of domestic work which is prevalent in our society.

BibliographyBibliographyBibliographyBibliographyBibliography

Cordiner, Percival 1807, Description of Ceylon, London,Longman, Hurst,Rees & Orme

Denham, E.B. 1912, Ceylon at the Census of 1911, Colombo,Government Printers.

de Silva, R.K. and Kumari Jayawardena 2014, PictorialImpressions of Early Colonial Sri Lanka: Peoples Customsand Occupations.London, Serendib Publications

Gooneratne, Yasmine 1986, Relative Merits: A Personal Memoirof the Bandaranaike Family of Sri Lanka, New York, St.Martins Press.

Jayawardena, Kumari 2012, A.P. de Zoysa A Combative Socio-Democrat and Reformist Buddhist, Colombo, SanjivaBooks.

_______ 2007, Nobodies to Somebodies: The Rise of the ColonialBourgeoisie in Sri Lanka, Colombo, Social ScientistsAssociation (2000).

Meagher, Gabrielle 1997, Recreating Domestic Service Institutional Cultures and the Evolution of PaidHousehold Work, Feminist Economics, 3(2), 1-27.

Romero, Mary 2002, Maid in the USA, New York, Routledge,Chapman and Hall (1992).

18Wickremasinghe, S.A. 1935, Dissenting Report of the Sub-

Committee on Employment (Domestic Services) ofWomen and Children and the Control of Orphanages,Sessional Paper 11 of 1935, Colombo, Government Press.

Menaha Kandasamy is the first woman to lead a plantation tradeunion in the country, namely, the Ceylon Plantation Workers (RedFlag) Union. She is a founder of the Red Flag Womens Movement(RFWM) as part of the main trade union dealing with issues such aswomens oppression and domestic violence. She also formed aDomestic Workers Trade Union which includes membership ofwomen from the plantation community.

Page 1,2.pdfAyesha-1 Edited 12.pdfBlank PageBlank PageBlank Page

Ayesha-1 Edited.pdfBlank Page

Blank Page