Rubber dealers continue strike

By Our Staff Reporter

KOTTAYAM, OCT. 16. The impasse in the natural rubber market following the declaration of minimum statutory price is all set to continue for a few more days with the dealers adamant on their strike, which entered the fifth day on Tuesday, and the Rubber Board authorities bent on displaying their ineptitude in handling the worsening situation.

According to the Indian Rubber Dealers' Federation (IRDF) authorities, they will intensify their strike till their major demands were met and any further discussion on the matter was not possible for the next few days since the Rubber Board chairman will be in New Delhi from Wednesday till Friday.

The Board meeting of the IRDF held on Monday evening had decided to intensify their struggle till the three major demands were met.

The demands include, first, putting an end to what they termed the victimisation of traders by the Board, second ensuring a market price which provided a reasonable margin for the traders after paying the statutory price to the grower and third, a provision for dealing in rubber varieties lower than RSS-V grade.

The meeting also took steps to put an end to the alleged schism within the federation to ensure the success of the strike.

As part of these steps, all the Board members put in their papers and formed an ad hoc committee consisting of the presidents of the various district-level associations which constitute the federation.

Meanwhile, the Rubber Board authorities believe that the ground realities would force the strike wither away as most of the traders would engage in covert business operations in spite of their shutters being down.

It could be true in case of big suppliers who can easily engage in book adjustments without moving the product from their godowns, it is pointed out.

The pressure on the rural dealers by the Rubber Marketing Federation and the Rubco would also force them to engage in covert business operations, it is pointed out.

While the Board authorities could dub this as their victory, it is not clear what the ordinary grower has to gain from the situation.

Instead of providing a clear answer to the continuing impasse in the rubber market, the extended state of confusion would only lead to further exploitation of the grower by the dealers and the manufacturers, it is pointed out.

Meanwhile, the chances of the cooperative sector dealers joining the striking in the coming days cannot be ruled out, according to the dealers.

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