Coonoor (Tamil Nadu), Sep 15 - A bill to amend the Plantation Labour Act, 1951 has been introduced in Parliament, a senior official said Tuesday.

'The proposed amendments relate to change in the definition of employer, family and worker,' Tea Board deputy chairperson Roshini Sen said at the 116th annual conference of the United Planters' Association of Southern India (UPASI) here.

Quoting from the address of Labour and Employment Minister Mallikarjun Kharge, who could not be present on the occasion, Sen said the bill also included safety precautions to be taken by planters for storage, utilisation and handling of agro-chemicals.

'As safety and health of the labour, especially women, employed in plantation estates are paramount, preventive steps have to be mandated for using agro-chemicals like insecticides and herbicides,' Sen told about 800 planters participating in the two-day event.

The bill also proposes to regulate employment of women and children below 14 years for handling hazardous chemicals in plantations.

Officiating as chief guest at the conference in the absence of the minister, Sen expressed concern over the impact of global recession on the export performance of the plantation sector.

'Competition from China, Sri Lanka, Kenya and other countries pose a challenge to the Indian plantation sector due to high cost of production arising out of higher wages, lower productivity and ageing of tea and coffee bushes and rubber plants,' Sen said.

Favouring special status to the plantation sector for competing with other countries in global and domestic markets, Sen said the state governments should not forget the contribution of planters in terms of employment-generation, export revenues and creating India brand the world over in coffee, tea and spices.

'The government should implement the S.N. Menon committee report, which recommended financial support from the Centre and states to bear 50 percent of the social costs incurred by planters for the welfare of their workforce,' Sen noted.

At the same time, Sen urged the planters to invest in research and technology to improve the quality and quantity of their crops to increase their share in the domestic and international markets.