Plantation wage hike will go before Cabinet: Minister

• Labour Minister says alternative will be presented to Cabinet on Monday 
• Expresses confidence he will be able to implement Rs. 1,000 daily wage backed by Govt. soon
• Latest round of talks between RPCs and unions fail to break two-year deadlock 
• De Silva insists Govt. will not walk back Rs. 1,000 pledge

By Uditha Jayasinghe 

Hoping to end the long-standing stalemate between Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) and trade unions, Labour Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva yesterday said he would present an alternative mechanism to raise the daily wage to Rs. 1,000 before the next Cabinet meeting. 

The Cabinet paper is expected to be presented on Monday. RPCs, which are represented by the Employers Federation, trade unions and Labour Ministry officials met yesterday for the latest instalment of talks that have dragged for two years. 

However, despite numerous rounds of talks, both sides were unable to move beyond a daily wage of Rs. 920. RPCs also continued to decline the demand by trade unions to increase the basic wage from Rs. 700 to Rs. 725, while unions rejected an alternative wage scheme presented earlier by the companies tied to productivity targets.  

Following a lengthy discussion, Labour Minister de Silva said he would attempt to resolve the standoff by presenting an alternative proposal to the Cabinet of Ministers. He, however, insisted that the Government would not walk back its pledge to increase the daily wage to Rs. 1,000, which was announced before the Presidential election in 2019 and reiterated in Budget 2021.  

“Since there was no consensus, as the Labour Minister it is my duty to ensure that the Government’s policy is implemented. So, I will be informing the Cabinet of Ministers the outcome of these discussions and proposing an alternative way to compel employers to pay the wage increase. I’m hopeful that after the next Cabinet meeting we will be able to fulfil the pledge given by the Government,” he said. 

de Silva acknowledged that a collective agreement was the typical industry practice, but said he had no choice but to intervene given that multiple rounds of talks had not yielded a solution. 

“Throughout history in most instances a collective agreement was signed between the Employers Federation and the unions. However, this time the Federation has insisted they are not in a position to pay Rs. 1,000. There is a gap of Rs. 80, which the plantations have said they cannot meet, because they say such an amount will lead to an industry collapse.”

However, de Silva did not disclose details of what his alternative to the Cabinet would entail. Ministry sources indicated that de Silva is likely to consult other top Government and Ministry officials before drafting the Cabinet paper. If the Cabinet paper is passed there is a possibility the payments increase could be implemented through the Wage Boards, but it is unclear if this can be achieved without the support of RPCs.   

RPCs have long rejected Government intervention in deciding wages, insisting that a collective agreement where payments are tied to productivity is essential for industry sustainability. Unions on the other hand insist it is the RPCs responsibility to provide a living wage to a largely marginalised community.