New plantation wage favourable to workers - RPCs

The Planters Association of Ceylon said the new plantation sector wage package has been adopted by Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs), to be favourable to employees.

According to the Planters Association the formal plantation sector, represented by the 23 RPCs, now fully implemented the new wage package.

The Planters Association said the various components of the wage package are aimed at increasing productivity, while also being fair by employees.

"The new wage of Rs 405 per day is designed in such a way as to encourage and reward workers for better productivity," said Lalith Obeysekera, representing the Planters Association of Ceylon and the Plantation Services Group at the Employers Federation of Ceylon (EFC).

Employees qualify for the attendance incentive of Rs 90 per day, if they report to work for 75 percent of the work-days offered by the estate. Employees qualify for the Rs 30 per day productivity incentive, if they meet the daily plucking norm set by the estate.

Planters Association Secretary General Malin Goonetilleke said that in the formal plantation sector, workers are not unnecessarily penalised when wages are calculated. "RPC estates do not penalise workers for not meeting the exact number of kilos set by the norm. Even if they fall short of 2 or 3 kilos of leaf, the companies still pay them the full basic daily wage.

Workers are also not forced to report to work on Poya days and Sundays.

The RPCs calculate the number of work days by excluding Poya days and Sundays. If they don't come to work for 75 percent of the work days offered, they are still paid the basic daily wage for the days they do report to work.

The company also provides many non-cash welfare services not just to workers, but to entire families," said Obeysekera.

The attendance incentive and the productivity incentive in the wage package are aimed at increasing the efficiency of Sri Lanka's plantation sector, as the sector is somewhat less productive than some competitor countries.

The three signatory trade unions to the Collective Agreement, representing about 60 percent of the formal plantation sector workforce, are also in agreement with the need to retain productivity.

The plantation sector needs to increase productivity to remain competitive.

"This is something that the three signatory trade unions to the Collective Agreement, also agree on. That is why the latest Collective Agreement is a landmark agreement because it directly encourages productivity through a productivity incentive," said Employers Federation of Ceylon (EFC) Director General Ravi Peiris.

The three major plantation sector trade unions also agreed to a 'pro-rated wage' instead of the standard basic daily wage during the non-cooperation campaign at the time of wage negotiations.

"There was a clear agreement with the three signatory trade unions to pro-rate wages of workers during the non-cooperation campaign period of the wage negotiations.

That is, workers on non-cooperation or go slow, will be paid a pro-rated wage instead of the full basic daily wage. This is because during this period, productivity dropped drastically," said Peiris.