Tea estate workers continue strike for seventh day

Tuesday, 11 December 2018 01:19 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The strike launched by tea estate workers demanding that plantation companies increase their basic daily wage up to Rs. 1,000 continued for the seventh day today throughout the estate sector.

Other trade unions yesterday also decided to offer their support to the trade union action launched by the Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) in the estate sector. The leaders of the trade unions have decided to join the CWC to demand that the plantation companies increase the daily wage.

In parallel with the strike, estate workers stood in front of the tea factories and burned tires to protest against plantation companies.

Estate workers launched an indefinite strike on 4 December demanding that plantation companies increase the basic salary of plantation workers up to Rs. 1,000 a day.

Plantation companies, during discussions held with the estate workers’ unions, have proposed to increase the current basic daily wage of Rs. 530 to Rs. 600, and increase other allowances to pay up to Rs. 1,012 a day. The proposal has been rejected by the joint estate trade unions saying they were not prepared to agree to a basic daily wage below Rs. 1,000.

CWC Leader and Nuwara Eliya District MP Arumugam Thondaman yesterday at a media briefing held at the party’s headquarters in Kotagala said that he would meet President Maithripala Sirisena and request him to intervene to increase the basic daily salary of a plantation worker to Rs. 1,000.

Thondaman said that trade union action would continue until the plantation companies gave into demands.