Plantation companies - Estate Union talks :

Govt to mediate as last resort

Shirley Wijesinghe

Plantation Industries Minister D. M. Jayaratne said yesterday that the plantation companies were in a stable financial position to meet the wage hike demand by Estate Trade Unions.

A crucial meeting is scheduled for today between the Management Companies and Plantation Trade Union representatives demanding a Rs. 500 wage increase for estate workers.

Speaking to the Daily News, Minister Jayaratne said an agreement should be worked out between the Companies and the Trade Unions.The Government has to consider intervention only when negotiations fail. He said the contribution made by the tea industry to the country's economy is too important to permit the crisis to continue.

The Minister added that Trade Union activities such as strikes, non cooperation and go-slow campaigns should not lead to the collapse of the national economy.

"Intransigence on the part of either party can lead to the closure of factories which would in turn paralyse the economy.This should be avoided at all cost", he said. Meanwhile Ceylon Workers' Congress Spokesman R. Yogarajan told the Daily News the Joint Plantation Trade Union including the Ceylon Workers' Congress and Lanka Estate Workers' Union launched a non-cooperation campaign demanding a Rs. 500 daily pay hike for plantation workers. A discussion which was held on August 31 between the Employers' Association and Plantation Trade Unions ended incondusively.

Meanwhile, the Planters' Association of Ceylon on Friday alerted the Government on an escalating security situation and negative impact on the country's economy arising from the spreading disruption on estates caused by estate workers as a pressure tactic on on-going wage negotiations. "Sri Lanka faces an unprecedented negative impact if produce already bought by overseas buyers are not allowed to be shipped to them," Planters' Association of Ceylon Secretary General Malin Goonetileke said.

Plantation workers attached to the CWC union started the non-co-operation campaign against estate managements following the breakdown of talks with the employers federation to obtain a wage increase, said CWC President and Estate Infrastructure Minister Muthu Sivalingam.

This decision was taken at the meeting with Estate Trade Unions held at Congress Labour Foundation, Kotagala. The Employers' Federation called the Trade Unions for further discussion today on wage increment demand of workers.