The operations of the houseboat in this backwater city was almost paralyzed, as a section of workers of houseboats and motorboats resorted to a one-day token strike demanding distribution of minimum wages as stipulated by the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments (KSCE) Act today.
The strike badly affected the industry as more than 60 per cent of houseboats could not operate following a section of workers in the industry causing hardships to foreign as well as domestic tourists.
According to the houseboat industry sources the total loss just for the day was more than Rs ten lakh, as there had been large booking today.
The sources also said though they had an agreement with the CITU, the only one union, in the recent past and they had assured that discussions would be held well before the deadline.
The recently floated another union, Tourism and Houseboat Mazdoor Sangh, affiliated to the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), declared one day-token strike for immediate action on wage revision, the sources added.
''It was hard time for us to accommodate the tourists, who had already booked in advance in view of Sunday and we were forced to accommodate them in home stays while some were forced to cancel their trip as they wanted to move to their other destinations,'' they said, adding in view of the strike many houseboat owners had shifted their boats to other parts of the district not to cause hardships to foreigners.
More than 2,000 workers were associated with 600 plus house boats, of which 60 per cent of them could not operate today.
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