10th Parliament· 154 sittings on record · 30,475 speeches · latest 10 June 2026

The Hon. Chamara Sampath Dasanayake

New Democratic Front· Badulla· 10 October 2025 ·Oral question: Oral Questions and Government Answers (Questions 342/2024, 7/561/2025, 9/984/2025, 10/1120/2025, 8/625/2025)

AgricultureEmployment
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Hon. Chamara Sampath Dasanayake said his question on tea factory closures had been submitted six months earlier after a former Tea Small Holdings Development Authority Chairman claimed 225 factories had closed in a year, a statement later corrected, and he also noted that a Minister’s claim about Sri Lanka winning a Nobel prize for tea was inaccurate. He welcomed the planned issuing of deeds in Bandarawela to people connected to estates, but asked whether estate workers, who have long sought a wage increase, would receive one this year given the government’s time in office.

Verbatim record (translated)

Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, it’s been six months since I submitted this question. The former Chairman of the Tea Small Holdings Development Authority said 225 factories had closed within a year; that’s why I asked—because it seemed unbelievable. He later corrected it. Another Minister claimed we got a Nobel prize for tea—that is also incorrect. Please answer accordingly.

¶ 02 Hon. Minister, on plantations, tomorrow in Bandarawela you are to issue certain deeds to people linked to estates; that is good and we are happy. However, estate workers have long asked for wage increases. It’s been a year since this government took office and 11 months since you assumed duties, yet estate workers have not received a wage hike. Will wages be increased this year? Please answer briefly.

Provenance

Source
Hansard, Friday, 10 October 2025 ·No. 22640 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Chamara Sampath Dasanayake. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 10 October 2025. No. 22640. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/13873