Planters’ Association warns:

Estate union action will create economic chaos

The Planters’ Association of Ceylon has alerted the Government on an escalating security situation and negative impact on the country’s economy arising from the spreading disruptions on estates caused by estate workers as a pressure tactic on on-going wage negotiations.

These have amounted to acts of sabotage including incidents where workers in several estates had prevented produce being dispatched to buyers from the estates, disrupted power and water supplies affecting operations in addition to conducting a go-slow.

“Sri Lanka faces an unprecedented negative impact if produce already bought by overseas buyers are not allowed to be shipped to them” warned the Secretary General of the Planters’ Association of Ceylon Malin Goonetileke. “It affects our reputation and will move buyers away to other tea producing countries and we have written to the Treasury Secretary who represents the Government’s shareholding.”

The Defence Secretary and the Inspector General of Police have also been apprised of a compromised security situation arising from these spreading disruptions as the deterioration of law and order in the plantation areas affects the security of the country.

Plantation Company representatives have indicated that if this situation continues without normalcy being restored, the Companies will be compelled to discontinue operations in the estates/factories/divisions which are currently being disrupted.

This will result in the Companies being unable to make payment of wages, advances and any other payments due to the workers.

Director General of the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon Ravi Peiris said he has written to the Trade Union leaders engaged in the Collective Agreement negotiations, Commissioner General of Labour and Secretary to the Ministry of Plantation Industries about the negative impact such disruptions would have on the estate workers as well as the economy and image of the country.

Sri Lanka stands to lose its competitive edge in the world market for tea and face colossal losses in foreign exchange if overseas buyers turn to other countries to obtain their requirements in this scenario, further compounding the problems of an industry still struggling to recover from the global economic downturn and contending with one of the lowest worker productivity levels among tea growing countries.