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Nov 26, Colombo: Staff of eight tea estates in Maskeliya staged a protest today (26) at the Mousakelle junction demanding the revision of their salaries.
The members of the Ceylon Estate Staff Union have boycotted the monthly salary paid to them by the estate authorities yesterday.
The Ceylon Estate Staff Union has recently signed a collective agreement with the governance authority of the Plantation Companies for a 25% salary increase for the next three years for the staff of 21 regional plantation companies
In terms of this agreement, the regional plantation companies have agreed to increase the salaries of estate staff covered under the agreement by 25 percent. This revision will be granted with immediate effect and will be applicable for a minimum period of three years.
According to the collective agreement, 18 plantation companies have increased the new salary and added it to the base salary.
However, the Maskeliya Plantation Company, the Kegalle Plantations Company and the Namunukula Plantations Company, which is under the control of Maskeliya Plantations have decided to give the raise as an allowance, not adding to the base salary.
The staff of eight plantations companies have launched the protest against the decision of the Maskeliya Plantation Company demanding the company to add the pay raise to the base salary as the other 18 companies.
They say they will not take the monthly salary and will continue to strike until the new salary is obtained.
Employees of various staffs including CEOs of Strathspey, Brunswick, Moray, Laxapana, Brownlow, Glentilt, Mousakelle, Glenugie estates, office clerks, field officers, drivers, estate doctors, welfare officers, industrial sector officers and tea estate workers have joined the strike.
The General Secretary of the Ceylon Estate Staff Union Nath Amarasinghe said in a statement to the media that if the three plantation companies do not add the salary increase of the collective agreement to the base salary as the other companies, the employees of the plantation companies will take a massive trade union action within the next few days.
Source: http://www.colombopage.com/archive_19B/Nov26_1574766020CH.php
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