Improving the estate sector

PRESIDENT Mahinda Rajapaksa has directed the Labour Minister to initiate discussions with the Plantation Management Companies on the possibility of increasing wages of estate workers.

Prior to this the President had met representatives of the Estate sector where he had drawn their attention towards this aspect.

The President had noted that although workers were bound by a Collective Agreement, the rising cost of living and the services rendered by this segment of should be considered.

At present an estate worker draws a daily wage of Rs. 260. Much has been said about the contribution of the plantation worker to the country’s economy but efforts of all Governments have not been able to totally redeem them from a siege mentality cultivated through ignorance and poverty.

Today they still languish in primitive line rooms of colonial vintage where a single family of eight or nine are forced to share a few square feet of space. Their children rarely go to school and educational facilities as they exist are not adequate. The lack of qualified teachers in estate schools is a burning issue.

The same goes for infrastructure facilities where even the basic amenities are non-existent in some instances. Perhaps there is no segment of the country’s labour force that has been exploited to the extent of the plantation worker in return for little reward.

Worse, their plight have made them ready tools in the hands of scheming politicians who has had a free ride to power over the decades on the backs of their own community.

It had been the credo of such political parties to deny the emancipation this segment which if realised would see through their machinations.

The President’s move therefore to intervene directly to alleviate the condition of the estate workers should be considered in the wider perspective. While commending the move to increase their wages, more initiatives are needed to pull them out of the rut to which they have consigned themselves.

True, we have a separate Ministry for Plantations and one overseeing Estate Infrastructure Development.

However, the magnitude of the contribution made by this segment towards the country’s economic growth certainly warrants the intervention of the Head of State to find ways to ameliorate their conditions.

There should be a concerted programme towards the overall development of this neglected lot of our citizens who bring in the shekels to the State coffers.

While moves should be made to integrate them more into the national mainstream, steps should also be taken to introduce them to the new vistas that have been opened up in the modern age.

For too long have the fate of these people have been left in the hands of politicos who are only interested in their votes. We have no doubt that given the concern shown by the President towards the plantation community there would be special provisions in the Budget to give the Estates a big shot in the arm.

There is a growing need to deliver these people from the blight of ignorance so that they would have a new outlook of things and the world in general. Attention also should be focused in developing the tea industry that was once the country’s economic mainstay.

Ceylon Tea, as it is popularly known, is still a well-known brand name in the world.

However where we are lagging behind is in introducing value added teas which countries with a lesser reputation have succeeded in doing.

The tea small holdings which account for nearly 60 per cent of our production too should be given a boost in terms of additional incentives and other assistance.

We hope that the discussions underway on the plantation wage issue would be successfully concluded in a manner that benefits the estate workers who toil for the nation.