• Govt. seeks to raise the daily wage of plantation workers to Rs 1,700 
• To seek Prez’s intervention if ongoing negotiations fail to reach agreement with employers 

The Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure stated that while it is seeking to reach an agreement with estate employers to raise the daily wage of plantation workers to Rs 1,700, they will seek the President’s intervention if the negotiations fail.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, Deputy Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure, Sundaralingam Pradeep said that discussions are currently underway with estate companies, estate owners’ associations, and the Ministry of Labour regarding raising the plantation workers’ daily wage.

“At present, estate workers earn Rs 1,350 per day. The Government hopes to raise this to Rs 1,700 soon. We are currently discussing with the employers and trying to reach an agreement. If the discussions fail, we will have to seek the President's intervention and raise their wages,” he added.

The salary issue of plantation sector employees has been a long-standing issue. Over the past, when there were demands for salary increases for plantation workers, most of the employers have been expressing concerns over increased costs and operational challenges. Workers and trade unions, on the other hand, have been continuing to demand better pay and benefits to improve their quality of life.

Speaking to the media recently, Leader of the House and Minister Bimal Rathnayake said that increasing wages for plantation workers has become a challenge for the Government. However, he added that the relevant ministries are continuously intervening in the matter, and that the Government would increase wages in the coming months.

Meanwhile, plantation workers’ trade unions have urged the Government to hold talks with plantation companies – talks they say should have been held earlier – and to exert pressure on them to increase daily wages in proportion to the rising cost of living. The Voice of the Plantation People (VOPP) organisation made this call in response to a recent statement by Rathnayake who had noted that increasing plantation workers’ daily wage has become a challenge for the Government, and that the Plantation Industries and Finance Ministries are currently making the necessary interventions in that regard. 

VOPP Executive Director Anthony Jesudasan told The Daily Morning that it is unacceptable for the Government to make promises without a concrete plan, stressing that it is due to that lack of planning that the Government is finding it challenging to address the workers’ wages issue. 

“The making of promises itself is problematic, as these decisions are taken without first holding talks with the plantation companies,” he said, raising concerns about the practicality and implementation of such pledges. 

He added that former President Ranil Wickremesinghe also made similar promises but failed to deliver, as he too did not engage with the plantation companies in advance. Jesudasan emphasised that the Government should either compel plantation companies to increase salaries in line with the cost of living or allocate State funds to ensure a wage hike.

During the Budget speech earlier this year (2025), President Anura Kumara Dissanayake announced that the Government would intervene to increase plantation workers’ daily wage to Rs. 1,700. However, according to Jesudasan, workers have not received any increase since last year’s (2024) decision to raise their daily wage to Rs. 1,350.