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Sri Lankan estate workers protest against higher workloads and wage cuts
Demonstrations involving hundreds of workers have erupted at several tea estates in recent weeks against increased daily productivity demands and wage cuts.
In January, the Rajapakse government ordered plantation companies to pay a 1,000-rupee ($US5) daily wage (a 900-rupee basic payment plus 100-rupee allowance) to tea and rubber estate workers, starting from April. The government’s announcement was in order to dissipate the rising anger of plantation workers over their poverty-level wages.
Line rooms at Gartmore Estate [Credit: WSWS Media]
Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) that manage the Sri Lankan estates opposed the increase and went to the courts to challenge the government’s decision. Conscious of the mass opposition of plantation workers, the appeal court approved the government pay directive.
Sri Lanka: Alton workers’ action committee defends victimised colleagues
The Action Committee of Alton Estate Workers (ACAEW) passed a resolution last week appealing to workers and youth throughout Sri Lanka and internationally to support its fight against the estate management’s witch hunt.
On March 22, the Horana Plantation Company sacked 38 workers at its Alton Estate, near Upcot in central plantation district. The workers were falsely accused of assaulting the manager and assistant manager at the estate.
Twenty-four workers and two youth have also been arrested and charged over the same allegations and now face trial. The victims have all vehemently denied the accusations.
Sri Lankan workers denounce Alton Estate witch hunt
Last week Alton Estate management in Maskeliya, in Sri Lanka’s central plantation district, terminated 38 workers.
The victimised workers, who were summarily dismissed without any investigation or right of appeal, have been accused of attacking the estate’s manager and assistant manager during a recent pay strike. The sackings are part of an ongoing witch hunt against militant employees by estate management and the police, in collaboration with the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), the main plantation trade union.
Alton estate (Source: Facebook)
About 500 Alton Estate workers walked out on strike on February 2 to demand a 1,000-rupee ($US4.96) daily wage. They returned to work on March 26, following a directive from the CWC.