Wages on plantations hard to come by
View(s):The rubber industry already plagued by low production numbers as a result of the pesta disease that has been affecting the rubber crop for several years says it will be difficult to meet the Rs.1700 wage hike as agreed upon at the last Wages Board meeting.
It was pointed out that the maintenance of the rubber plantations costs Rs.2.6 million in addition to replanting and bringing it to tapping after planting.
Workers are likely to earn Rs.1350 since the financial situation within the rubber plantations has dropped, Colombo Rubber Traders Association (CRTA) Past President Manoj Udugampola said.
He noted that this new gazette will only lead to most companies cutting down on maintenance operations on the plantations and even curtailing the work as a result of a drop in replanting.
The rubber industry has seen a significant drop in production over the years due to the outbreak of the pesta disease.
Further this is likely to fuel more issues on the plantations as rubber industry persons highlighted that the industry is already struggling as production numbers are low. However, the prices of rubber have been high as a result of the scarcity of rubber available in the market.
According to the government gazette issued following the discussion of the wages board it was stated that the daily wage is Rs.1350.This amount includes the daily budgetary relief allowance and should be applied for payment of Employee Provident Fund and Employee Trust Fund. An additional Productivity based incentive will be allocated amounting to Rs.350 and the total of this will result in a daily wage of Rs.1700. Objections to the gazette will be received by the Chairman of the Board until 12.00 noon on August 28, 2024
The industry is currently considering granting the productivity based incentive by allowing workers to pluck the norm of 7 kilos per day at the rate of Rs.50 per kilo.
In this respect, this does not guarantee a Rs.1700 wage per day for the workers and on the contrary workers will receive the daily wage of Rs.1350 and the rest linked to productivity on plucking the extra amount.
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