Estate sector dispute:

Govt to intervene

Ranil Wijayapala

The Government will intervene in the estate sector dispute over the daily wage issue as the Planters' Association and estate workers trade unions could not reach a consensus even at yesterday's meeting to end the week's long strike in the plantation sector, Plantation Industries Minister D.M. Jayaratne told the Daily News last night.

Minister Jayaratne said that he was informed yesterday that the estate sector trade unions and the Planters' Association could not reach a consensus at yesterday's meeting too as trade unions refused to agree to the Rs.385 offered as daily wage at yesterday's meeting.

"The Government did not intervene in this matter hoping that the trade unions and the Planters Association would come to an amicable agreement on the issue through friendly discussion. Since they could not reach an agreement yesterday too, we have to intervene into the matter very soon," the Minister added.

"This is an issue on a Rs.112 billion income of the country. We can't wait any further," the Minister said.

He said he had discussions with the Labour Minister too on this issue to summon all the parties to the problem for a discussion on Monday the earliest to settle this issue.

The Minister said if this issue drags on further not only the planters and estate sector workers, the entire country will have to suffer.