A discussion will be held at Temple Trees today (Feb 01) between the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the parliamentarians of the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) on the daily wage issue of plantation workers.
Minister of Hill Country New Villages, Infrastructure and Community Development and leader of TPA Palani Digambaram has said that he and the other TPA ministers would resign from their portfolios if the slashed Rs 140 incentive allowance is not paid to the estate workers and if their daily wages not increased to Rs. 1000.
Minister Digambaram further said that under the agreement, signed recently by the people’s representatives Vadivel Suresh and Arumugam Thondaman with the plantation owners, the Rs. 140 incentive allowance given earlier has been slashed under the guise of increasing the basic daily wage to Rs. 700 and the move was a huge injustice to the estate workers.
Speaking at a media briefing at the Ministry on Wednesday, Minister Palani Digambaram said the Tamil Progressive Alliance regrets the failure to increase the basic daily wage of the estate workers for many years.
He said recently a discussion was held with the estate owner’s association on the issue of raising the daily wage to Rs, 1000 and Arumugam Thondaman and Vadivel Suresh betrayed the estate workers by agreeing to a Rs. 700 wage instead.
“Plantation workers have so far received only a basic daily wage of Rs. 500. If you work 21 days a month you get extra 60 rupees. With the incentive allowance of Rs. 140, they get Rs. 700 a day. Now they have agreed to a basic daily wage Rs. 700 with no allowance. Cutting the allowance is a serious loss for the estate workers. They have been betrayed,” he explained.
The Minister said they discussed the matter with the Prime Minister and requested at least to reinstate the Rs. 140 allowance with the Rs. 700 basic daily wage.
“If at least the allowance is not given, we have to make a decision whether to stay in the government from February 1st or not,” he added.
“If we did not get a solution for this injustice, we would carry out a sathyagraha in Hatton with our people. MPs elected from the votes of the estate workers will resign from the ministerial posts,” Minister Digambaram said adding that members of his party represent the people.
Courtesy: Colombo Page
