President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who participated in the May Day rally of the Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) held at the Kotagala Municipal Council (KMC) playground on May 1, 2024, said that the daily wage of plantation workers would be increased to Rs. 1,700 and the gazette notification No. 2385/14 published on April 21, 2024 to increase daily wages for them had already been issued.
This news item appeared on the front page of several newspapers the next day but they had also published a news article quoting a representative of the Planters’ Association of Ceylon (PAC) next to the President’s speech. The news stated that it was not possible for them to pay a daily wage of Rs.1,700 for estate workers and the PAC would go to Courts against this decision.
Although the President’s statement on May Day announced the increase of daily wages of estate workers to Rs.1,700, it was not the beginning of it. It is also reported that a meeting was called by the Wages Board (WB) to take a decision on this matter but the estate companies did not participate in it. In such a situation, the WB can take a decision on this matter without them. Accordingly, the decision was gazetted by the Commissioner General of Labour and it was announced by President Wickremesinghe on May Day. However, the issue of increasing wages for estate workers has now taken a new stance.
The Supreme Court has received a petition by plantation owners to stay the gazette notification to increase the wage to Rs. 1,700 for estate workers. At the same time, the Cabinet has taken a decision to cancel the existing estate ownership agreements with companies that are unable to pay the salary increase of Rs.1,700. According to the Land Reforms Acts of 1972 and 1975, all plantation companies owned by locals and foreigners were nationalised and the estates were taken over by the Government. For a long time, they were owned by Janatha Estates Development Board (JEDB) and the Sri Lanka State Plantations Corporation (SLSPC).
In 1992, selected private companies were assigned to manage large-scale state-owned estates. In 1995, these estates were given to private companies on a lease basis. In the same year, estates were leased to 20 private companies and three Government companies. Then another estate company came into being and now there are 21 estate companies in the private sector and three estate companies in the public sector, which are controlled by 24 estate companies under a long-term lease basis.
Many people believe that Sri Lanka’s plantation sector collapsed after the nationalisation of estates. However, it is noteworthy that the plantation sector has contributed significantly to the country’s development and its economy. This has resulted in the welfare of workers, development of the estate infrastructure and integrating estates that were operating as isolated units away from the rural areas.
However, later most of the estates were taken out of Government control and handed over to private companies. The plantation sector in Sri Lanka can be divided into three main periods according to the changes that have taken place in this way. That is, the era of rule under local and foreign entrepreneurs, the era of Government control and the era when control was handed over again to private companies. Despite such a change in management, the bitter and sad experience of nearly two centuries of plantation industry in Sri Lanka is that there has been no significant change in the standard of living of the plantation workers during that period.
‘Bitter Berry’
Christine Wilson’s acclaimed novel ‘Bitter Berry’ (Thiththa Copee), which has had several Sinhala translations, describes the evolution of the country’s plantation sector, difficulties faced by estate planters and the plight of plantation workers during the early stages of coffee cultivation in Sri Lanka, which was later wiped out by a crop disease. However, even today, plantation workers live in a similar pathetic situation. It can be proved by just one example.
When analysing the economic conditions of the people of Sri Lanka, three sectors are analysed: urban, rural and estates. According to the latest information on poverty in Sri Lanka, the poverty level in the urban sector is 1.1 percent, in the rural sector it is 3.3 percent and in the estate sector it is 10.4 percent.
It will be possible to understand the pathetic situation faced by an estate worker who is contributing well for the country’s economic development and export promotion. While poverty in the rural sector is 3.3 percent, poverty is higher in the estate sector at 7.1 percent. It is clear that no progress has been made in their lives.
In 2022 – 2023, the least profitable estate company was Madulsima with a pre – tax profit of Rs.88.5 million. Second on the lowest list was Mathurata Plantation Company with a pre- tax profit of Rs.127.2 million. Every other company has made a pre-tax profit of more than Rs.700 million and most of the companies have made pre- tax profits of Rs.100 million to 3,500 million. However, the plantation companies say that if the daily wages of these plantation workers are increased by Rs.700, the plantation industry in Sri Lanka is likely to collapse.
The meagre wages paid to workers who produce ‘Sri Lankan tea’, which has gained great fame all over the world, have made those people engaged in slavery. They have no permanent homes. Estate companies have given them houses called line rooms, but they are in a dilapidated state with poor hygiene and no basic facilities for a human being to live.
Daily wage
In the 200-year-old Sri Lanka’s plantation industry, the estate workers have contributed significantly to the country’s development. Estate workers have earned a significant percentage of the foreign exchange spent on food and other needs of the country. In most of the estates now the labourers do not get work for all 30 days of the month. In such a situation, it is not possible for them to meet at least their basic needs with an amount of Rs.1,700 daily wage.
The Government has given a salary increment of Rs.10,000 to public sector employees this year despite the country being in bankruptcy. Top managers in the plantation industry seem to enjoy huge salaries, perks and all other facilities. Estate workers do not ask for plantation bungalows for their living or other facilities, which are enjoyed by estate managers. They only demand a mere increment of Rs.700 added to their daily wages to maintain their minimum standard of living. Plantation companies need to understand that in order to preserve the plantation industry in the future, they must keep the estate workers happy.
It is high time for the plantation owners to look into this matter in a more humane and serious manner without resisting this wage hike of Rs.700 for the estate workers. All of these companies should make a collective effort to provide these workers with the expected wage increment not only to upgrade their lives but also for the betterment of the plantation sector. Therefore, the measures taken by President Wickremesinghe to free estate workers from 200-years of slavery should be praised by all.
