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RPCs to oppose decision on estate workers’ Rs. 1,000 wage

09 Feb 2021

  • Claims Collective Agreements now nullified

  • Unions claim wages agreement stands

  The Wages Board approval of Rs. 1,000 as a daily wage for plantation workers will be opposed by the Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) within the next two weeks, The Morning learnt. “We intend to oppose the Wages Board decision of granting Rs. 1,000 as the daily wage within the next two weeks in writing to the Minister of Labour,” Planters’ Association (PA) Media Spokesperson Dr. Roshan Rajadurai told The Morning yesterday (8). According to Dr. Rajadurai, once the Labour Minister publicises the decision of the Wages Board, any party is allowed to express their objections during a two-week time period, after which the Minister would consider the objections and gazette the decision accordingly. “Thus, we intend to justify our opposition to the 1,000 rupee daily wage model, detailing our productivity-based wage model and the benefits it would bring to the workers,” said Dr. Rajadurai. Since the Collective Agreement (CA) which details the wage model given to plantation workers, was not signed last month due to the conflict between the RPCs and the Trade Unions (TUs), the Minister of Labour Nimal Siripala De Silva decided to convene a Wages Board under the Labour Commissioner, which met yesterday (8) to provide a resolution. The negotiations were held between seven representatives each from the RPCs and the TUs, and three representatives from the Ministry of Labour. As such the TUs’ proposal of providing a basic wage of Rs. 900 by the RPCs and Rs. 100 through a budget allowance to make a total daily wage of Rs. 1,000 was passed with more votes. Dr. Rajadurai also claimed that the RPCs are not bound by the CA anymore. However, speaking to The Morning, Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) Vice President Senthil Thondaman said that only the CA which sets out the wages model would be rendered invalid by the Wages Board yesterday. He claimed the other CA which was signed in 2003 and details almost 75% of the labour laws of the country, would be continued into the future. “We are very happy with this decision as it would prevent the RPCs from playing unethical games with the laborers’ livelihoods. If the RPCs want to leave the other CA as well, we will resort to extreme TU action,” said Thondaman. Speaking after the Wages Board convention, Labour Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva said that the Government has kept the promise made at the 2021 Budget reading in December 2020.


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