The measure, announced by Labor Commissioner HKK Jayasundara, establishes a daily wage of Rs 1,750, which represents an increase of 70%. Urgent action to support a precarious category, suffocated by the economic crisis and high interest rates. “We can’t afford three meals a day,” say two Hatton workers. But the growers rebel: it is not a sustainable figure.
Colombo () – Work on the tea plantations in the central hills of Sri Lanka continues to be one of the most precarious remuneration activities in the country, often carried out in contexts of high pressure and in unsafe environments, amidst meteorological conditions. unpredictable and changing terrain. On April 20, Labor Commissioner HKK Jayasundara announced a 70% increase in the daily minimum wage for this category of workers, setting a minimum of 1,750 rupees (just over 5 euros). The measure, intended to offset high interest rates on loans offered to pay for school fees and essential food, is considered excessive and sparked a reaction from the Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) and plantation owners.
Plantation workers have been asking the government for a salary increase for years. Until now, in fact, monthly payments were not enough to cover the current high cost of living, a consequence of the economic crisis in which Sri Lanka is immersed. That is why workers have been forced to take out loans at high interest rates and, due to the current crisis, cannot pay their debts. Despite constant requests, it has taken the government almost 15 years to decide on the Rs 1,000 wage hike. Although delayed, it is an attempt to help the plantation workers, who carry out their work every day, and sometimes have to add extra hours to pick more kilos of tea leaves and earn additional income. If they work for daily wages, they have to collect 22 kilos of tea leaves per day. In recent times, due to the strong winds and rains affecting the central hills of the island, the harvest has been severely hampered and consequently they are forced to work for up to 4 or 5 months to earn a living.
According to the announcement, which was made public in Gazette No. 2382/04 issued by the Labor Commissioner, companies will have to pay Rs 1,350 as daily wage, Rs 350 as daily special compensation and Rs 80 for each additional kilo collected. A statement issued by the Planters Association of Ceylon – the main representative body of the country’s plantation industry – states that the Gazette notification says that the government “intends” to establish such minimum payment to respect workers dedicated to the cultivation and production of tea. The notification also states that objections to the proposal can be submitted until May 15. Therefore, the Association has decided to present objections to the proposal within the established deadlines. TM Sandaruwan of the Tea Smallholders Association explained the obstacles facing the implementation of the new measure: “Affected by the short-sighted policy of inorganic fertilizers that was applied haphazardly during the previous regime, production costs have exceeded our profits. They highlight that the average cost of a kilo of tea is 230 rupees. “The cost of fertilizers, salaries and all other expenses, including administrative ones, add up to about £280-£300 a day. It is a figure higher than the profit. So how can we increase wages? It is impossible”.
On the other hand, Lechchamee Murugesu, 42, and Dhanalakshmi Kandasamy, 45, two women who work on the Hatton plantations, spoke to Asia News about your situation. “In most families, women are the only breadwinners,” they say. In addition to working, they take care of their children and elderly parents who live in the same house. “Because our husbands are contract workers and have lost their jobs due to the economic crisis. Due to the current situation, salaries are not enough, because everyone depends on our income and it is not enough for us to eat three meals a day. “A single daily salary of Rs 1,000 is not enough to cover one month’s needs.” Sometimes when our parents are sick, we have to take them by rickshaw to the city for medical attention, and a single trip costs at least 3,000 rupees,” the workers explain.
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