Plantation workers Collective Agreement:

JVP Union's stand under attack

by P. Krishnaswamy

Plantations sector trade unions have already begun making statements and holding discussions on getting a wage hike for the workers as the Collective Agreement signed in 2007 between three major TUs and the plantation management companies expires on March 31, 2009. Contention between the TUs and the plantation companies on the quantum of wage increase to the workers resulted in months long unrest and TU action telling on the national coffers. After President Mahinda Rajapaksa's personal initiative and intervention a wage increase of Rs. 300, with retrospective effect, was agreed to by both sides and the agreement was signed in late 2007.

In a recent media statement JVP Parliamentarian Ramalingam Chandrasekaran, and President JVP's All Ceylon Estate Workers' Union, which is non-signatory to the Collective Agreement, said they will wage a struggle for a wage increase of Rs. 500 and it has drawn strong reactions from the three signatory unions to the agreement, the Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC), Lanka Jathika Estate Workers' Union and the Joint Plantation Trade Union Centre, which represent a bulk of the plantation community.

Leaders of the three unions told the Sunday Observer that these were mere gimmicks of trade unions that have always been misleading the plantation community for their own ends without any understanding of the economic factors that have affected the tea industry. They will negotiate for an appropriate quantum of wage increase to the workers at the right moment and will seek get arrears paid affect as they did in the past.

Excerpts of their comments

Muthu Sivalingam MP, President of CWC and Deputy Minister of Nation Building and Estate Infrastructure Development "Certain trade unions that mushroomed in the plantations recently are trying to outwit us. As a union that has safeguarded the interests of the plantation community and won their rights during the past several decades we have a responsibility by them and we know how to go about it at the right point of time. We know the current economic problems and difficulties being encountered by the plantation community and we have initiated various measures through the government to offer them some kind of relief. But with regard to wage increase we believe this is not the right time to negotiate for a considerable wage increase. We cannot bargain from a position of weakness. Tea prices in the world market has declined during the last several months. But the prices have already begun to stabilise. The situation should improve considerably before too long. We are sure we can get them a reasonable wage increase with retrospective effect, as we did during the past 15 years. Even the government can intervene on our behalf to get a reasonable wage increase to the plantation workers. As for now we will begin consultations among the major TUs before starting negotiations with the representatives of the Regional Plantation Companies for a Collective Agreement on wage increase and living conditions.

K. Velautham, President of LJEWU

"We completely ignore media statements and criticism from unions that have not been parties to the process of negotiating to get wage increase to the plantation workers. We know that the cost of living of the plantation workers has increased. We will commence discussions soon for getting an appropriate wage increase. We will first hold consultations among the three unions that are signatories to the agreement as also other unions. The collective agreement is an internationally accepted method. We believe that we can achieve benefits for the workers under the agreement. Tea prices are now stabilising. Meanwhile we call upon the government to provide fertilizers and electricity to the plantations at subsidised prices so as to reduce the cost of production."

O.A. Ramiah, Secretary General, JPTUC

"We will have to hold consultations before making a statement. We will begin negotiations soon with Employers' Federation of Ceylon (EFC) that represents the plantation management companies. We admit that there is a crisis in the industry due to the fall out of export prices. Although this has been the scenario for the last several months, the industry had the best of time during the two years prior to that. We believe the market situation will revive and we will negotiate at the right point of time for an appropriate wage increase to the workers."