History of Ceylon Tea

A decision was taken yesterday to provide a Rs. 1,700 minimum daily wage for an estate worker in the tea and rubber industries, by the Wages Board in-charge of the Estate sector at the Labour Department.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe previously said that he will convene the Wages Board and discuss further regarding the daily wage of the plantation workers and that he is ready to bring special laws if required for the implementation of the decision to increase the daily wage of estate workers to Rs. 1,700.

A vote was also taken yesterday during the meeting of the Wages Board regarding the wage increase. Accordingly, an agreement has been reached to provide Rs. 1,350 as the daily minimum basic salary and Rs. 350 as attendance promotion special allowance for estate workers.

The Government decided to increase the daily minimum wage of an estate worker to Rs. 1,700 previously, which was opposed by several plantation companies who claimed that they were unable to provide such a pay increase.

The subsequent move by the Government to issue a Gazette notification increasing the minimum daily wage of estate workers to Rs. 1,700 was challenged in the Supreme Court and the Court ordered the gazette to be cancelled and for the minimum daily wage to be paid by the Wages Board for estate workers.

Jeevan welcomes decision

DENETH SANKALANA

Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development Minister Jeevan Thondaman yesterday welcomed the decision of the Wages Board to provide a daily salary of Rs. 1,700 to estate workers, and thanked President Ranil Wickremesinghe for intervening in the matter.

Minister Thondaman said a vote was held at a meeting of the Wages Board yesterday (12) regarding the salary increase. He said that 14 voted in favour of the salary increase, while three plantation companies voted against it.

The agreement entails a daily basic salary of Rs. 1,350 and an additional special allowance of Rs. 350.

Minister Thondaman emphasised his commitment to fulfilling promises saying, “I am committed to delivering on my promises. I assured a daily salary of Rs. 1,700 to estate workers and I delivered on that just like I did when I previously provided a salary of Rs. 1,000.”

He further expressed satisfaction in achieving the salary increase, referring to it as a significant victory.

In response to a legal challenge on the salary issue, Minister Thondaman, who is also General Secretary of the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), expressed gratitude to President Wickremesinghe and former Minister Manusha Nanayakkara for rectifying the Court-identified errors and implementing the salary increase.

Vadivel thanks President

Varuna Dayaratne

MP Vadivel Suresh, General Secretary of the Lanka Jathika Estate Workers’ Union, expressed his gratitude to President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Government for extending the fullest support to get the minimum daily wage of estate workers raised to Rs. 1,700.

Vadivel said yesterday that the decision to raise estate workers’ daily wage to Rs. 1,700 was not made hastily but rather, it followed extensive negotiations over the course of more than a year involving the Labour Department, trade unions and relevant stakeholders.

He said that the estate workers play a pivotal role in sustaining the esteemed reputation of ‘Ceylon Tea’, contribute significantly to the national economy of Sri Lanka and deserve their daily wage increased. He said that their hard work has finally paid off with the Wages Board finally agreeing to increase the daily wage of estate workers to Rs. 1,700.