The Wages Board for the plantation sector workers is to meet during the first week of May where the unions are to demand a wage increase to Rs. 2,500 while the Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) assert that the number is unacceptable.
The low wages paid to tea plantation workers has been a major issue for decades. These workers live in estate line rooms which are small, crowded, and lack basic amenities. They work long hours under harsh conditions and receive low wages.
Collective Agreement
The Collective Agreement in Sri Lanka’s tea plantation sector is a legally-binding agreement between plantation companies and trade unions that governs the working conditions, wages, and benefits of workers in the sector.
The agreement is negotiated every three years and is an important mechanism for ensuring fair wages and working conditions for tea plantation workers.
The origins of the Collective Agreement can be traced back to the early 20th century when the British Colonial Government introduced labour laws and regulations in Sri Lanka.
The first Collective Agreement in the tea plantation sector was signed in 1951 between the Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) and the plantation companies. The agreement set a minimum wage and included provisions for housing, medical care, and other benefits.
Over the years, the Collective Agreement has evolved to include a wider range of issues and benefits. In the 1970s, the Government of Sri Lanka nationalised the tea plantation industry and the Collective Agreement became a means of regulating the relationship between the State-owned plantation companies and the trade unions.
In the 1990s, the Sri Lankan Government began privatising the tea plantation industry and the Collective Agreement continued to play an important role in regulating the relationship between plantation companies and trade unions.
However, the privatisation process led to the consolidation of the industry, with a few large companies controlling a significant share of the market. This consolidation has made it more difficult for trade unions to negotiate fair wages and working conditions.
In recent years, the Collective Agreement has been a focus of protests and strikes by tea plantation workers, who argue that the minimum wage set by the agreement is too low and does not provide a living wage. In response to these protests, the Government and plantation companies have negotiated new agreements that include higher wages and additional benefits.
To address the wage issues faced by tea plantation workers, a Collective Agreement was signed between plantation companies and trade unions in 2018.
The agreement set a minimum daily wage of Rs. 700 for tea plantation workers and included several other benefits such as a productivity-linked wage supplement, a housing allowance, and a provident fund.
The Collective Agreement was signed for a period of three years and it expired in October 2021.
However, negotiations between the plantation companies and trade unions to renew the agreement broke down, leading to protests and strikes by tea plantation workers across the country.
The main issue in the negotiations was the demand by the trade unions for a daily wage of Rs. 1,000, while the plantation companies were offering a daily wage of Rs. 950. After several rounds of negotiations and protests, following an approval by the Wages Board, a gazette notification was issued increasing the minimum daily wage to Rs. 900 for tea plantation workers and Rs. 100 as a budgetary allowance.
The agreement is valid for a period of three years and is expected to improve the working conditions and livelihoods of tea plantation workers in Sri Lanka.
Avoiding payment
Lanka Jathika Estate Workers Union General Secretary Vadivel Suresh charged that the RPCs were attempting to circumvent labour laws and avoid paying the last wage hike to Rs. 1,000.
“The plantation companies have gone to the Appeal Court against the last decision to increase the wages to Rs. 1,000 even after the Supreme Court said to go ahead with the Rs. 1,000 daily wage. It is very unfair that when there is one labour law for the country, the RPCs are trying to use their powers to violate this law. I think the Government must get involved.”
He said that he had called on President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s intervention.
“The only person who can resolve this is the President. I have written to the President to call for a tri-party discussion where the unions, RPCs, and the Labour Ministry sit together and settle this amicably.”
Wages Board
Tamil Progressive Alliance Leader and MP Mano Ganesan said that the wages board would meet early next month.
“The wages board is to discuss and decide about the daily wage of the plantation workers and it will be convened in the first week of May. CWC President Senthil Thondaman has been recently appointed to the board. In addition LJEWU Secretary Vadivel Suresh is also a member of the board.”
He said that while TPA is not on the board, they would be in discussions with other unions over the wage increments. “TPA is not part of the board. Anyway both Vadivel and Thondaman are in constant discussions with us. Therefore, we will jointly decide on our demand of the exact daily wage amount once the board meets.”
MP Ganesan said that the unions demanded an increase of the daily wage to Rs. 2,500.
“Our demand will not be less than Rs. 2,500. Tea is an export crop. Devaluation of the Rupee against USD over Rs. 320 has benefitted the tea export industry greatly. RPCs shall come to terms or face trade union action.”
Unaware of meeting
Nevertheless, Planters’ Association Chairman Senaka Alawattegama said that they were unaware of the activities of the wages board.
“We haven’t been informed about the board being reconstituted so we haven’t even thought of how much we are going to pay or whether we are going to give an increase. Once they inform us we will discuss among the RPCs and get back to them.”
He asserted that the Rs. 2,500 demand was not acceptable and any increment would be solely based on a worker’s productivity.
“As far as we are concerned, Rs. 2,500 is not possible. Any increment would always be on a productivity basis. It is not the normal wage we are thinking of, it has to be a productivity-based wage that we would be interested in. Also I think right now, I don’t know how we can talk about it when the matter is in court. The case is on the basis of how the last increment to Rs. 1,000 was granted.”