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Estate workers sought a wage increase for their survival, not to lead a luxurious life –Sathasivam

Published

4 years ago

2020/12/13

by Douglas Nanayakkara in Nuwara Eliya

The purchasing power of plantation workers should be pushed up if they are to be healthy to work hard by eating a balanced diet at least once a day. This is the reason they are demanding a daily wage of Rs.1,000 so that they could fulfill their basic need to be healthy to work hard, said S. Sathasivam, president/general secretary of Ceylon Workers’ Alliance

He commended the Prime Minister cum Finance Minister for proposing a salary hike of Rs. 1,000 for estate workers in the budget for the first time in the history of Sri Lanka.

When tea estates were managed especially by the British, the workers had the privilege of enjoying a string of welfare measures such as the infrastructure, dry rations and so many other benefits that enabled the then estate owners to enhance

production and promote Ceylon tea to the entire world and earn substantial foreign exchange, he told a media conference at Cooperative Holiday Home in Nuwara Eliya last week.

“It is the tea industry that has been contributing to the GDP during and after the departure of the British. It should not be forgotten that our country was first popular for its finest tea the world over before it became famous for anything else”, he stressed.

After the government take-over of the tea estates soon after independence, they were handed over to the Sri Lanka State Plantation Corporation (SLSPC), Janatha Estate Development Board (JEDB) and USAWASAMA for management and administration. Even during the management of the estates by the government, securing wage hikes and welfare benefits were possible through trade union activities such as ‘work to rule’ or strikes, the former provincial councilor noted.

The Srima Shasthri Pact was in force during the 1960s. There was a decline in all aspects of the plantation industry. Everything came to a standstill as there was a scarcity of male workers as most of them left Ceylon for good. Some men were sent/transferred to other estates where there was an acute scarcity. This situation disrupted the unity that existed among the plantation community, Sathasivam asserted.

In 1992, the estates were handed over to private companies on lease while the government retained ownership. The estates were leased out with the intention of promoting the tea industry in the country as the management and maintenance of the estates were costly. The expectation was that the companies will look into the welfare and the other necessities and wages of the workers while earning profits, he explained.

The earlier practice to increase the wages was based on the cost of living index, as this was no other effective method. The companies urged the trade unions to enter into a Collective Agreement, and as a result, it was decided to increase the salaries/wages of the workers every two years, he further said.

Subsequently, the estates were not properly managed; there was no weeding, proper manuring, pruning, road maintenance and development carried out by these private companies. Consequently, the wonderful tea estates that brought immense foreign exchange turned into jungles and forests. Some of the estates were abandoned resulting in an increase in the breeding of leopards, wasps, snakes and bees , Sathasivam continued.

“We hear about deaths of leopard and snakes and wasp attacks. It is evident that the workers are faced with untold hardships but despite their suffering, the estate management continue to insist on 18kg of tea leaf for a day’s pay/wage”, he said.

Based on the cost of living index and commodity prices five years ago, the workers demanded a salary of Rs. 1,000 per day based on the then prices of coconut, sugar and flour. There were no luxury items included. Considering the skyrocketing prices of these commodities the government has decided to increase the salaries of estate workers through the budget by asking the private management companies to pay Rs. 1,000 per day, he added.

“We cannot compare the estate sector to any other labour related industrial sector as this requires very hard labour and lot of energy working under climatically adverse conditions whereas others don’t suffer as much. The estate management demanding higher performance without considering the adversities faced by the plantations workers is inhuman”, he noted.

Welfare activities beneficial to estate workers are not implemented by the companies. Recruitment is always done on a hire and fire policy. Most infrastructure and welfare facilities are provided by the government now and the money saved could be utilized to maintain estate fields that will give a good yield and minimize mortality by wild animal attacks, he suggested.

“Unattended tea estates can also be converted into profitable cash crop plantations”, he said.

“We insist that the companies should focus more on productive estates and fields that are managed properly for a good yield while protecting the workers by looking into their needs and welfare as they asked for a wage increase only for survival and not to lead a life of luxury”, Sathasivam added.

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French Navy Ship PROVENCE arrives in Port of Colombo

Published

4 hours ago

2025/03/17

Priyan

The French Navy Ship PROVENCE arrived at the Port of Colombo on a formal visit on Sunday (16 Mar 25) morning.

She was welcomed by the Sri Lanka Navy in compliance with the time-honoured naval traditions.

The 142.20m long Destroyer is Commanded by Captain Lionel SIEGFRIED and manned by a crew of 160 members.

During the stay in the island, crew members of PROVENCE will visit some tourist hotspots in the country and the ship is scheduled to depart the island on 20 Mar.

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Court of Appeal dismisses Ex-IGP’s writ petition

Published

4 hours ago

2025/03/17

Priyan

The Court of Appeal this [17] morning dismissed the writ petition filed by former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon, seeking an interim injunction to prevent the execution of the arrest order issued by the Matara Magistrate’s Court against him.

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Project to distribute smart boards for 1,000 schools with the goal of enhancing education has completely failed to meet its objectives and the investment of LKR 1.7 billion has been underutilized -PM

Published

8 hours ago

2025/03/17

Priyan

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that the project to distribute smart boards for 1,000 schools with the goal of enhancing education has completely failed to meet its objectives and the investment of LKR 1.7 billion has been underutilized.

The Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya made these remarks in the Parliament complex on Saturday [March 15, 2025] while discussing the project to establish networked classrooms by facilitating smart boards to the school system.

The Cabinet Memorandum No. AMP/24/0385/601/027 and the Cabinet decision dated March 4, 2024 has been presented for the approval of the provision of digital smart boards and other related equipment to 1,000 selected schools, with the objective of enhancing education through the establishment of a systematic network of smart classrooms within the school system funded by the Sri Lanka Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRCSL).

Subsequently, an additional Cabinet Memorandum, No. AMP/24/0978/630/009, dated May 14, 2024, was presented, proposing the implementation of this project in alignment with the project proposed by Chinese government for digitalizing Schools. Under this Chinese-funded project, plans were made to establish a centralized control center and a studio facility, along with the provision of an additional 500 smart boards. Accordingly, the integration of both projects was proposed to create a network of smart classrooms across 1,500 schools.

The cabinet decision has been presented requiring Sri Lankan Government to purchase smart boards with specifications identical to the smart boards which were proposed to be distributed by the Chinese Government.

In line with the Cabinet decision of May 14, 2024, the procurement for the 1,000 smart boards began in July 2024. However, at the time of purchase, the project proposed by the Chinese Government was still at the discussion stage, and no official agreement had been reached regarding the technical specifications of the smart boards.

However, the procurement was carried out through the Sri Lanka State Trading (General) Corporation without a competitive bidding process, relying on price quotations obtained from a single supplier based on unclear sources that were not officially verified by the Chinese government. The Sri Lanka Telecommunications Regulatory Commission incurred the full cost of LKR 1.7 billion, with an additional LKR 430 million allocated for services and installation.

The aforementioned procurement appears to have been conducted at an unusually accelerated pace when compared to the standard procedure typically followed for high-value procurements. Specifically, price quotations were requested on July 5, 2024, opened on July 15, 2024, and by July 16, 2024, the Technical Evaluation Committee had completed and submitted the report. Subsequently, the report was reviewed by the Standing Procurement Committee appointed by the Cabinet on July 17 and 18, 2024, with recommendations being provided on the same day. These recommendations were then submitted to the Cabinet on July 23, 2024, and approval was granted on July 30, 2024. Followed by this, the purchase requisition was issued to the supplier on August 5, 2024. Accordingly, the entire procurement process was completed within a span of one month.

As part of this procurement, a Letter of Credit was opened to facilitate the payment of USD 3,135,392.50 for 1,000 smart boards to Intelligent Express Limited Hong Kong, which has been identified as a representative of Huawei. While the relevant Cabinet paper indicated Huawei as the designated manufacturer supplying the smart boards under the Chinese funding project, the Chinese government has not yet confirmed the selection of such a supplier for this project.

According to aforementioned purchase requisition, the purchased smart boards and related equipment were delivered to the Ministry of Education in October 2024 and are currently stored at Pattala Gedara Teacher’s Training College. Although the procurement of the aforementioned Smart boards by the Sri Lankan Government has been finalized, the relevant project, which was intended to be implemented under the funding of Chinese government, has not yet commenced and a final agreement regarding its implementation has not been reached.

Prior to reaching a final agreement on the network integration facilities and centralized system proposed by the Chinese government, the procurement of these smart boards has resulted in the inability to utilize the equipment for the intended purpose. It is expected that the Chinese aid project is at the discussion stage, and the implementation may extend until the end of this year. Further, no official decision has been made regarding the selection of a supplier for the project.

Given this situation, if the 1,000 smart boards and other equipment currently stored in warehouses are to be distributed to schools, school principals must be provided with clear instructions on their proper use. However, due to the delay in implementing the project under the funding of the Chinese government, specific guidelines on the installation and utilization of the equipment cannot yet be issued.

Since network integration cannot be carried out at this stage, these smart boards can only be used as standalone classroom units. As a result, the objectives of the project will not be met, and the investment of LKR 1.7 billion made might be considered to be underutilized.

A formal investigation has been initiated to determine whether financial and procedural irregularities have occurred in this procurement. Additionally, discussions are currently continued with the Chinese government, and efforts are being made to secure the proposed facilities from China at the earliest convenience.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]