Estate Worker unions to meet on wage hike negotiations
Negotiations at the upcoming Collective Agreement for Sri Lankan plantation workers would ensure they get a “reasonable” and “decent” hike in their salaries, a government politician said.
State Minister for Plantation and Industry K. Velayutham, who is also the General Secretary of the Lanka Jathika Estate Workers’ Union, told the Business Times that they would be conducting discussions with nearly 70 unions prior to meeting with the relevant authorities to increase wages of estate workers as a joint effort without biases.
He noted that the same leadership would take charge of the discussions with the authorities irrespective of whether the majority party was in the opposition or the government. At present A. Thondaman’s Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) party that holds a majority among estate workers is currently in the opposition.
Mr. Velayutham pointed out that on the government side himself, Plantation Infrastructure Development Minister P. Thigambaram and Education State Minister V. Radhakrishnan had agreed to work jointly with a view to addressing issues relating to estate workers.
The state minister said discussions on the negotiations should initially be carried out among the unions that would discuss on the Collective Agreement but noted that the wages would be agreed to be paid with effect from April itself irrespective of when the decisions would be taken.
The negotiations were likely to be carried out in a more transparent manner, Mr. Velayutham said adding that the same process as adopted in the past would take place this time as well with the CWC representing the estate workers at the meeting with the authorities.
Moreover, the current tea and rubber markets would be taken into consideration in arriving at a decision on the amount of wages to be obtained this year for the nearly 200,000 workers.
In the meantime, today the government would be laying the foundation for the first model township for the estate workers who lost their homes in Meeriyabedda with the aim of initially constructing 77 houses, schools and children’s parks among others. The area would allow for a total of 200 houses to be constructed but the first 77 would be completed within five months, the state minister said.
Under the Sirisena administration’s 100 day programme state lands would be allocated for the estate workers with about 7-perch deeds made in the name of both husband and wife given to them through the Plantation Ministry. Lands would be provided on the basis that the workers could construct the houses on their own; or obtain a loan to build the house; or obtain houses already established by the government.
This is part of Prime Minsiter Ranil Wickremesinghe’s vision to making these people no more “addressless” as they do not have an address of their own but were situated in an estate, Mr. Velayutham said.