Features

Plantation Wages: Collective bargaining or otherwise?

Published

5 years ago

2021/03/1

By Gotabaya Dasanayaka

This article is not to discuss the merits or otherwise of the proposal to increase the daily wage of Tea & Rubber Plantation workers to Rs 1000. In depth discussions in that regard have gone on for over one year now and they continue even at the time of writing this. Instead, the objective of this article is to discuss the process adopted for wage fixation since the “privatisation” of state owned / managed plantations in 1992 and, the relevance of the statutory Wages Board mechanism to that process.

From the time of the conception of the proposal to “privatise” the management of state owned / managed plantations, it was understood by policy makers and industry leaders that the “buy in” of the Plantation Trade Unions was crucial to the success of the exercise. The late Saumyamoorthi Thondaman the sagacious patriarch of the plantation workers; when extending his support to the change-over did so on one important condition among others; i.e. that that the newly formed Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) will agree to Collective Bargaining with the Trade Unions (TUs) in dealing with worker issues including the all-important subject of wages. The veteran labour leader, was obviously guided by his vast experience in dealing with the British Controlled Plantation “Agency Houses” and the state management of “JEDB” and the “SLPC” in placing his faith in Collective Bargainig.

At the point of “privatisation” in 1992, the RPCs joined the Employers Federation of Ceylon (EFC) and the EFC, as the TU representing the RPCs entered into the first “post privatization” substantive Collective Agreement with the TUs led by the CWC, LJEWU and the JPTUC, in 1998. This was preceded by long drawn out negotiations. Since then, the substantive Collective Agreement was renewed in 2003 and periodical wage agreements have been successfully negotiated thereunder, with the last one signed in January 2019 and terminable in Jan 2021. The Daily wage package in terms thereof is Rs 750/=.

I do not suggest that the collective bargaining process has been exemplary by any standard or that it could not have been better managed or, more constructively exploited by parties. Regardless of whatever drawbacks and challenges however, the process has prevailed for almost three decades and remained a difficult but reasonably effective mechanism to manage Industrial Relations issues on the plantations and also agree on worker wages; with industry sustainability being the overriding consideration.

A key to whatever success achieved through collective bargaining was the capacity and strength demonstrated by parties, i.e. The Trade Unions and the RPCs; to negotiate without inhibition but, with mutual understanding of each other’s aspirations, concerns and ability to deliver. Whenever that mutuality was lost and considerations extraneous to the industry took precedence, the strength of the negotiating parties was undermined and that obstructed the path to a rational settlement. This has happened in the past and is happening today as well. Trade Unions instead of working towards a mutual agreement with the RPCs, are now desperately looking for ways and means to give effect to a political promise made during the last General Election over which they or the RPCs had no control and, a proposal in the National Budget to increase the basic wage to Rs 1000/= per day. It is the government that has now taken upon itself the responsibility of making the 1000 Rs daily wage a reality through state apparatus; The Wages Board for the Tea and Rubber growing Trades.

The Wages Boards Ordinance empowers a Wages Board (WB) for any trade (as at now there are about 45 boards for different Trades) to among other aspects, determine through a given procedure minimum rates of wages payable to workers in such Trade. The procedure for decision making by a WB warrants tripartite discussion between Employers, Workers and government nominees, broader consultation with the public which enables objections to a proposal and, a decision by a vote of Board members. Employers and Workers have equal voting strength in addition to government nominated members who also have voting rights and, who more often than not decide issues when there is a stalemate. Importantly, a fully consultative process is envisaged.

Anyone familiar with wage practices in Sri Lanka will explain that the minimum wages decided by a WB is the base wage in an industry. Nothing less can be paid. Most employers pay in excess of the prescribed minimum to attract skilled people to work. Some establishments have worker involvement mechanisms to determine terms and conditions of employment. In Unionised establishments, Trade Unions engage in Collective Bargaining with Employers to determine terms and conditions, including wages. When Industrial relations issues including wage negotiations are deadlocked the Industrial Disputes Act makes provision for conciliation by Labour officials or Arbitration. Going by normal Industrial Relations practice in Sri Lanka, the subject wage dispute should have resulted in a reference to arbitration for a “Just & Equitable” award. That would also have enabled parties to continue negotiations and if possible, record a settlement at the arbitration.

The recent activation of the Wages Board mechanism to give effect to the Rs.1000/= daily wage of Tea & Rubber plantation workers is unprecedented. It also brings to question the objectives of the WBs, i.e. the setting of MINIMUM wages and terms through a consultative process. A leading Sunday newspaper had attributed the following statement to a senior Labour Official a few days ago: “It is mentioned in the WB ordinance that we have to call and consider objections…….. however that will not change their decision despite the objections placed before them” . I understand that a large number of objections have been received by the WB from within the industry as well to the proposal in issue. If what is reported in the Newspaper is true, it is truly sad for the WB system; as the underlying message is that objections are called as the procedure mandates it but, the decision is predetermined by us! Does this not make a mockery of the consultative process as envisaged in the WB Ordinance?

In this overall context, a matter of practical concern for business and industry and the economy as a whole also deserves consideration. That is the impact of the proposed increase in plantation worker MINIMUM wages, on the Labour Market and in particular, wages across industry. The current minimum wages as determined by different WBs in a few leading trades are given hereunder:-

Garment Manufacturing Trade:

Range between Rs 7,500/= to 15, 450/= Per mensem

Hotel & Catering Trade:

Range between Rs 10,000/= to 13,280/= per mensem

Retail & Wholesale Trade:

Range between Rs 13,580/= to Rs 15,150/= per mensesm

Printing Trade:

Range between Rs 10,000/= to Rs 14,360/- per mensem

Nursing Home Trade: Range between Rs 12,500/= to Rs 17,225/=

Coconut Growing Trade:

Rs 600/= per day (for Workers)

Cinnamon Trade:

Rs 450/= per day (For Peelers)

Cocoa, Cardamom & pepper growing Trade:

Rs 600 per day (For workers)

Tea Growing and Manufacturing Trade

Rs 405/= (for workers)

The proposed daily MINIMUM wage of Rs 1000/= per day for the Tea & Rubber Growing & Manufacturing Trades will; for 25 days work, amount to Rs 25,000/= per mensem. That will then be the highest minimum wage determined by a WB in the country. It would be much higher than the minimum wage prescribed for example, to a theatre sister or matron under the Nursing Home Trade let alone a worker in a coconut Plantation.

Will not a variance as high as this lead to agitation among workers in other trades which often require higher skills, for unrealistic increases in the minimum wages applicable to them? Will not interventions of this nature, negatively affect the wage equilibrium in the country and lead to unsustainable demands across industry? These are questions that need to be seriously considered by policy makers.

As discussed earlier, WB minimum rates set the base line for business and industry but, they constitute a key benchmark which if meddled with ad hoc, more so for extraneous considerations, can lead to chaos in the Labour Market. Or is it that when all WBs determine MINIMUM wages, the two WBs concerned will instead decide on a Maximum?

My message is that Industry wages should be decided by each industry, based on Industry related factors, in consultation between Employers and Workers wherever that is possible. The state is obliged to create an effective regulatory environment that enables the resolution of whatever disputes that may arise in the process. Third parties whoever they may be and, who do not control the management or the finances of an industry, should stay clear and never intervene for considerations extraneous to the industry. That’s how business & Industry operates in successful economies in the world and, that was what the late Suamymoorthi Thondaman the patriarch of the plantation community espoused for the plantation workers.

Gotabaya Dasanayaka is a former Director General of the Employers Federation of Ceylon and an Ex Senior Professional Specialist in Employers Activities of the International Labour Organisation

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Features

Maduro abduction marks dangerous aggravation of ‘world disorder’

Published

6 hours ago

2026/01/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

Venezuelan President Maduro being taken to a court in New York

The abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by US special forces on January 3rd and his coercive conveying to the US to stand trial over a number of allegations leveled against him by the Trump administration marks a dangerous degeneration of prevailing ‘world disorder’. While some cardinal principles in International Law have been blatantly violated by the US in the course of the operation the fallout for the world from the exceptionally sensational VVIP abduction could be grave.

Although controversial US military interventions the world over are not ‘news’ any longer, the abduction and hustling away of a head of government, seen as an enemy of the US, to stand trial on the latter soil amounts to a heavy-handed and arrogant rejection of the foundational principles of international law and order. It would seem, for instance, that the concept of national sovereignty is no longer applicable to the way in which the world’s foremost powers relate to the rest of the international community. Might is indeed right for the likes of the US and the Trump administration in particular is adamant in driving this point home to the world.

Chief spokesmen for the Trump administration have been at pains to point out that the abduction is not at variance with national security related provisions of the US Constitution. These provisions apparently bestow on the US President wide powers to protect US security and stability through courses of action that are seen as essential to further these ends but the fact is that International Law has been brazenly violated in the process in the Venezuelan case.

To be sure, this is not the first occasion on which a head of government has been abducted by US special forces in post-World War Two times and made to stand trial in the US, since such a development occurred in Panama in 1989, but the consequences for the world could be doubly grave as a result of such actions, considering the mounting ‘disorder’ confronting the world community.

Those sections opposed to the Maduro abduction in the US would do well to from now on seek ways of reconciling national security-related provisions in the US Constitution with the country’s wider international commitment to uphold international peace and law and order. No ambiguities could be permitted on this score.

While the arbitrary military action undertaken by the US to further its narrow interests at whatever cost calls for criticism, it would be only fair to point out that the US is not the only big power which has thus dangerously eroded the authority of International Law in recent times. Russia, for example, did just that when it violated the sovereignty of Ukraine by invading it two or more years ago on some nebulous, unconvincing grounds. Consequently, the Ukraine crisis too poses a grave threat to international peace.

It is relevant to mention in this connection that authoritarian rulers who hope to rule their countries in perpetuity as it were, usually end up, sooner rather than later, being a blight on their people. This is on account of the fact that they prove a major obstacle to the implementation of the democratic process which alone holds out the promise of the prgressive empowerment of the people, whereas authoritarian rulers prefer to rule with an iron fist with a fixation about self-empowerment.

Nevertheless, regime-change, wherever it may occur, is a matter for the public concerned. In a functional democracy, it is the people, and the people only, who ‘make or break’ governments. From this viewpoint, Russia and Venezuela are most lacking. But externally induced, militarily mediated change is a gross abnormality in the world or democracy, which deserves decrying.

By way of damage control, the US could take the initiative to ensure that the democratic process, read as the full empowerment of ordinary people, takes hold in Venezuela. In this manner the US could help in stemming some of the destructive fallout from its abduction operation. Any attempts by the US to take possession of the national wealth of Venezuela at this juncture are bound to earn for it the condemnation of democratic opinion the world over.

Likewise, the US needs to exert all its influence to ensure that the rights of ordinary Ukrainians are protected. It will need to ensure this while exploring ways of stopping further incursions into Ukrainian territory by Russia’s invading forces. It will need to do this in collaboration with the EU which is putting its best foot forward to end the Ukraine blood-letting.

Meanwhile, the repercussions that the Maduro abduction could have on the global South would need to be watched with some concern by the international community. Here too the EU could prove a positive influence since it is doubtful whether the UN would be enabled by the big powers to carry out the responsibilities that devolve on it with the required effectiveness.

What needs to be specifically watched is the ‘copycat effect’ that could manifest among those less democratically inclined Southern rulers who would be inspired by the Trump administration to take the law into their hands, so to speak, and act with callous disregard for the sovereign rights of their smaller and more vulnerable neighbours.

Democratic opinion the world over would need to think of systems of checks and balances that could contain such power abuse by Southern autocratic rulers in particular. The UN and democracy-supportive organizations, such as the EU, could prove suitable partners in these efforts.

All in all it is international lawlessness that needs managing effectively from now on. If President Trump carries out his threat to over-run other countries as well in the manner in which he ran rough-shod over Venezuela, there is unlikely to remain even a semblance of international order, considering that anarchy would be receiving a strong fillip from the US, ‘The World’s Mightiest Democracy’.

What is also of note is that identity politics in particularly the South would be unprecedentedly energized. The narrative that ‘the Great Satan’ is running amok would win considerable validity among the theocracies of the Middle East and set the stage for a resurgence of religious fanaticism and invigorated armed resistance to the US. The Trump administration needs to stop in its tracks and weigh the pros and cons of its current foreign policy initiatives.

Features

Pure Christmas magic and joy at British School

Published

6 hours ago

2026/01/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

Students of The British High School in Colombo in action at the fashion show

The British School in Colombo (BSC) hosted its Annual Christmas Carnival 2025, ‘Gingerbread Wonderland’, which was a huge success, with the students themseles in the spotlight, managing stalls and volunteering.

The event, organised by the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), featured a variety of activities, including: Games and rides for all ages, Food stalls offering delicious treats, Drinks and refreshments, Trade booths showcasing local products, and Live music and entertainment.

The carnival was held at the school premises, providing a fun and festive atmosphere for students, parents, and the community to enjoy.

The halls of the BSC were filled with pure Christmas magic and joy with the students and the staff putting on a tremendous display.

Among the highlights was the dazzling fashion show with the students doing the needful, and they were very impressive.

The students themselves were eagerly looking forward to displaying their modelling technique and, I’m told, they enjoyed the moment they had to step on the ramp.

The event supported communities affected by the recent floods, with surplus proceeds going to flood-relief efforts.

Features

Glowing younger looking skin

Published

6 hours ago

2026/01/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

Hi! This week I’m giving you some beauty tips so that you could look forward to enjoying 2026 with a glowing younger looking skin.

Face wash for natural beauty

* Avocado:

Take the pulp, make a paste of it and apply on your face. Leave it on for five minutes and then wash it with normal water.

* Cucumber:

Just rub some cucumber slices on your face for 02-03 minutes to cleanse the oil naturally. Wash off with plain water.

* Buttermilk:

Apply all over your face and leave it to dry, then wash it with normal water (works for mixed to oily skin).

Face scrub for natural beauty

Take 01-02 strawberries, 02 pieces of kiwis or 02 cubes of watermelons. Mash any single fruit and apply on your face. Then massage or scrub it slowly for at least 3-5 minutes in circular motions. Then wash it thoroughly with normal or cold water. You can make use of different fruits during different seasons, and see what suits you best! Follow with a natural face mask.

Face Masks

* Papaya and Honey:

Take two pieces of papaya (peeled) and mash them to make a paste. Apply evenly on your face and leave it for 30 minutes and then wash it with cold water.

Papaya is just not a fruit but one of the best natural remedies for good health and glowing younger looking skin. It also helps in reducing pimples and scars. You can also add honey (optional) to the mixture which helps massage and makes your skin glow.

* Banana:

Put a few slices of banana, 01 teaspoon of honey (optional), in a bowl, and mash them nicely. Apply on your face, and massage it gently all over the face for at least 05 minutes. Then wash it off with normal water. For an instant glow on your face, this facemask is a great idea to try!

* Carrot:

Make a paste using 01 carrot (steamed) by mixing it with milk or honey and apply on your face and neck evenly. Let it dry for 15-20 minutes and then wash it with cold water. Carrots work really well for your skin as they have many vitamins and minerals, which give instant shine and younger-looking skin.