What a pittance the backbone of the tea industry gets!

As a former Plantation Manager who has worked for the plantations management companies as well as the state owned plantations I would like to state the following with regard the demand for a higher wage.

Striking estate workers in Hatton

'It is better late than never’ that the trade unions decided on requesting these so called incompetent plantation management companies a higher wage for their membership as this demand was long overdue.

It is a well known fact that the plantation workers contribute about 90% for the effective running of any plantation. Without the effort of the workers there will not be any plantation left.

This should immediately be taken into consideration and irrespective of their being men or women a plantation worker should be paid a salary of at least 5 US $ a day, equivalent to Rs. 530 a day.

The plantation management companies are run and administrated by people whose competence is suspect. They are totally unaware of what is going on in the plantations.

The plantations worker who is the backbone of the industry should be paid this sum as the CEOs, directors etc., receive between Rs. 150,000, to 200,000, a month.

By R.M. Suresh Wijeyaratne, Girulle