“RPCs arm-twisted for Rs. 50 more”
We regret to note that the 10th March 2019 edition of the Business Times contained a report headlined: “RPCs arm-twisted for Rs. 50 more” contained factual inaccuracies.
The article claimed that the Government “has been able to arm-twist the plantation companies into paying a further Rs. 50 to tea estate workers”.
While discussions did take place between RPCs and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Plantation Industries Minister, Navin Dissanayake and other industry stakeholders, the substance of these discussions was focused on the mechanisms by which the Government would commit to payment of an additional Rs. 50 to plantation workers per day.
As per this latest round of discussions, the Government – not RPCs – will be allocating funding for the payment for a period of one year. These funds will be distributed to workers through the RPCs. The obligations of RPCs have already been defined and made legally binding through the execution of a new collective agreement which will remain in place for a period of two years. No further revisions to this agreement are legally permissible.
The article also incorrectly cited revised wages as per the newly established collective agreement as being Rs. 700, when in fact, the total wage – inclusive of a basic wage (Rs. 700), price share supplement (Rs. 50) and EPF/ETF (Rs. 105)- stands at Rs. 855.
The additional payment being provided by the Government will bring plantation worker earnings to Rs. 905 during the proposed 1 year period. The new collective agreement also increased payment on over-kilos from Rs. 28.75 to Rs. 40. By harvesting just 2.5 kilos above the estate norm, workers can achieve Rs. 1,000 a day.
The article mistakenly claimed that the Government’s proposal “had not gained approval, following which estate owners were compelled to agree to this additional pay hike”. However, RPCs have not raised any objections whatsoever to the Government’s proposal. The payment itself exists outside of the scope of the Collective Agreement between RPCs and employees, and is therefore outside the scope of RPCs authority.
The official position of the RPCs on the payment is that it is arrangement that is purely between the Government and private citizens; hence the State has full authority to make such discretionary payments as it deems to be necessary and capable of sustaining.
Business Times: Our story that “this is a loan” was based on a very authoritative source. Furthermore this was confirmed by Plantation Industries Minister Navin Dissanayake and also Sri Lanka Tea Board Chairman Lucille Wijewardena who told the Business Times that the government will be providing a loan to the Regional Plantation Companies to ensure the payment of Rs.50 will be given to the estate workers.