Although estate sector workers remain generally unaware about the proposals put forward by plantation companies with regard to wage hikes, when it comes to the matter of wage hikes, they also remain considerably sceptical, according to estate sector workers’ associations.
Speaking of the said proposals–which, as per media reports, suggest to provide workers with a 33% wage hike under the productivity based wage model or a 22% wage hike under the attendance-based wage model - the Voice of Plantation People organisation’s (VPPO) Executive Director Anthony Jesudasan said that estate sector workers remain largely unaware of the said proposals, and that not all matters discussed at the higher levels are communicated to the grassroots level.
He told The Daily Morning that however, overall, plantation sector workers remain sceptical about wage-related proposals and decisions, as they have not adequately benefitted from past decisions pertaining to wages. According to him, an example of the same was the proposal to increase the estate sector workers’ daily minimum wage to Rs. 1,000. Even though the proposal was approved, there are still workers who get paid less than Rs. 1,000 based on the quantity of the tea leaves that they pluck per day, and this, Jesudasan explained, is a result of various conditions that come with wage-related decisions.
Moreover, he explained that if impractical or unfair conditions are imposed with regard to the implementation of the said wage hikes, given also the weather conditions and other practical concerns, it would still be difficult for estate sector workers to benefit from a wage hike. He further pointed out the need to root out exploitation in the estate sector.
As per the media reports, the aforesaid wage-related proposals have been communicated by regional plantation companies and the Employers Federation of Ceylon to the Labour and Foreign Employment Minister Manusha Nanayakkara in a recently submitted proposal regarding the estate sector.
Attempts to contact the Planters’ Association of Ceylon to discuss estate sector workers’ concerns proved futile.