Lull in Nuwara Eliya tea industry

by P. Rajaratnam in Nuwara Eliya

The Work to Rule campaign for the past few days in the plantation sector by the major trade unions have economically crippled the tea industry in this quality tea producing district of Nuwara Eliya, state many of the plantation managements here. They say the tea factories do not get the day's required green leaves for manufacture, and they are of the view if the present campaign continues, the country will face economic set backs in the near future, since tea production brings in a good percentage of foreign exchange to the country's coffers.

It would be recalled - as a result of the signatory to the collective agreement namely, the Ceylon Workers' Congress, the UNP controlled Lanka Jathika Workers' Union and the Joint Unions have failed to reach a reasonable wage increase to the plantation workers, when the unions met the representatives of the Employers Federation at Kotagala on August 31, and at present all the major trade unions and as well as the splinter trade unions have reached consensus to adopt the work to rule, and if necessary to start protests and strikes in the coming days, in the event, the employers do not grant a reasonable increase of Rupees five hundred per day to the estate workers.

These union specially the trade unions who are not signatories to the collective agreements said that both the Ceylon Workers' Congress, the UNP controlled Lanka Jathika Estates Workers' Union and the Joint Trade Unions have deliberately delayed the signing of the collective agreement, which elapsed with effect from 31st March, 2009, giving flimsy grounds.

As a result, the estate workers continue to suffer economically on the earlier agreed wage of Rs. 270 per day, despite the spiralling cost of living.