Malaysian rubber plantation companies are recruiting tappers from the Indian state of Kerala with offers of better pay.
The recruitment drive comes amid tight business conditions in the Indian rubber industry and a price decline that has led to retrenchments.
Noushad Abdul Khayoom of Planners Group International recruitment firm said in an interview that Malaysian companies are offering better employment conditions and higher pay to rubber tappers from India.
The Malaysian company he is recruiting for has a requirement for some 200 workers over the coming months but not all of them will be from India.Noushad said that many Malaysian plantations are recruiting from Kerala, but they are really looking for a mix of nationalities.
Rubber tappers in the southern Indian state could earn between RM1,050 and RM1,500 per month, or about 500 rupees to 700 rupees daily, before the labour demand dropped and many shifted to other industries.
Kerala workers in Malaysia can expect to get more than double of what they earn in India along with better working conditions, Noushad added.
One Indian newspaper report said the prospect of losing experienced workers to Malaysia is making the local plantations jittery as the state has only 77,000 registered rubber tappers against the current requirement of 150,000.