The risky labour these workers are involved
with, they ransom for with their health, and yet they only receive a miniscule
salary in return. About 45 (US $1.1) pesos a day does it for the average
employee who works in extremely hazardous conditions from morning until
sundown. “Sometimes, we receive 90 pesos, if we finish a lot” says one
of them. This small amount of money they receive is way below the threshold
income to buy food that would sufficiently sustain their families. Oftentimes,
these workers don’t receive the medical treatment they badly need because
they cannot afford to pay for it themselves. The plantation refuses to
grant employees a raise in their salaries and couldn’t be expected to pay
for their hospital bills. One employee even admits he is not getting paid
his salary but is given food instead. He claims that he was promised 9
pesos per cubic meter, and for the 6 cubic meters he manages to dig per
day, “:I should be given 54 pesos a day but instead I get 5 kilos of rice
every week, that is supposed to be enough to feed my family of four.” He
has tried to complain about this unfair arrangement but according to him
“the labour contractor is never around”. Some people, desperate for a living
even sell ipil-ipil leaves (an ingredient for animal feed) for 2 pesos
per kilo and earn the measly sum of 100 pesos a week.
With their health fast deteriorating, their
food supply seriously depleted, their land destroyed and with no other
source of income sufficient enough, the people of Kamukhaan may not be
too far away from extinction, unless they find an effective antidote to
their poisoned lives. The plantation is nonchalant and feigns innocence
when confronted with complaints about their unsafe pesticide operations,
and the local authorities likewise proved to be of no help to them. A village
elder says with resignation, “We’ve tried, but as much as we want to, we
cannot do anything about it anymore. It is very powerful people we are
up against.”
