RPCs propose hybrid structure
Estate worker remuneration:
The Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) have put forward a modified
proposal on the wages of estate/plantation sector workers, which via a
hybrid solution attempts to bridge the gap between the demands of the
unions and the need for productivity improvement emphasised by the RPCs
since the inception of the current round of wage negotiations.
Accordingly, the modified proposal suggests the remuneration of the
workers based on the existing attendance-based wage for 12 days of the
month and on the other working days, for the workers to be remunerated
‘on the productivity-based revenue sharing’ model, which is based on the
actual amount of kilos of tea leaves plucked.
This productivity-based model is practiced widely in most of the
sustainable and progressive tea economies and has been found to be a
success in enhancing worker engagement – resulting in increased earnings
for those involved, RPCs said in a press release
For 12 days of the month on which the attendance-based wage is
applicable with all the current practices, despite severe financial
constraints, considering the expectations of the workers, the RPCs
propose the increase of the daily package by Rs. 100 to Rs. 720. On the
other working days (on which the productivity based revenue sharing
method is applicable), a predetermined per kilo rate has been proposed
by the RPCs.
This rate is significantly greater than the current per kilo rate
paid to the pluckers in the Tea Smallholder sector which is responsible
for more than 75% of the national green leaf production. RPCs are
confident that by incentivizing greater productivity through worker
engagement – in which Sri Lanka is lagging behind all other major tea
producing nations – the new proposal enables workers to earn a
substantially higher income than what they receive at present. The
Regional Plantation Companies are of the view that by linking
remuneration with output instead of mere attendance, productivity in the
estate sector can be improved by as much as 50% and that the incomes of
the workers could improve by the same extent.
“While the RPCs would strongly prefer remuneration being linked
entirely with output as in most tea and rubber producing nations around
the world, we have done our utmost to provide at least a temporary
solution acceptable to the unions and the workers,” said Roshan
Rajadurai, the Chairman of the Planters’ Association of Ceylon – which
represents the Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs). “We expect this to
lay the foundation for the adoption of remuneration/earnings based
entirely on output in the near future, which we are confident will
benefit all industry stakeholders – especially considering the highly
successful adoption of revenue sharing at many RPC estates,” he said.
The archaic attendance-based wage system, with the mandatory offer of
300 days of work by the estate for all the workers irrespective of field
or worker outputs or any other consideration, is the basis on which
workers in tea and rubber plantations managed by RPCs are being
remunerated at present. These long-standing wage and productivity issues
exacerbated with the sharp fall in the prices of both tea and rubber
globally – leading to heavy losses in both tea and rubber.
To ensure the sustainability of Regional Plantation Companies and the
livelihoods of the nearly one million population who depend on and
reside within the RPC estates, the RPCs and the Planters’ Association
has been continuously calling for output-linked remuneration.
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