The Hon. Kitnan Selvaraj

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I am pleased to address this august House on the Second Reading of the 2026 Budget. For the first time, the Hon. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has ensured a wage of Rs. 1,750 for plantation workers — a historic victory for Sri Lanka’s plantation labour. He will be recorded in history as the leader who achieved this.

¶ 02 Why is this historic? Because the struggle for wage increases in the estates has always been a story of struggle. In 1939, at Mulloya Estate, when workers asked to raise wages from 16 cents by a further 10 cents, a worker named Govindan was shot dead by the rulers. That is the bloody history of plantation wage struggles.

¶ 03 Today, a workers’ government is in place and workers’ rights are being secured. The increase to a Rs. 1,750 daily wage is a landmark — achieved without protests, demonstrations, or begging. As one who struggled for workers’ rights, I often said any wage increase would come only through struggle. But now, upon coming to office and declaring the increase, what did Jeevan Thondaman — who represents the traditional estate leadership — say? He challenged us to raise the basic wage by even Rs. 10. Yet, this Government raised the basic wage by Rs. 200 and, unprecedentedly, added a Rs. 200 attendance allowance, funded directly from the Treasury.

¶ 04 Hon. Jeevan, will you resign your post? If not, at least apologize to the workers. You did not want even a Rs. 10 increase. Now, as the basic wage rises by Rs. 200 plus a Rs. 200 attendance allowance, his camp spreads lies that if attendance days fall, the Rs. 200 will not be paid. This is the ultimate lie of a lineage of liars. Even if a worker attends one day, the attendance allowance will be paid — let Jeevan understand that.

¶ 05 Meanwhile, CWC’s Senthil Thondaman welcomes the Budget — differing views within their ranks. Historically, a worker’s daily wage was Rs. 135 in 2005 and Rs. 500 in 2017 — a Rs. 365 rise over 12 years, when the CWC propped up the ruling regimes. Now, this Government has raised Rs. 400 in one stroke — a historic victory.

¶ 06 Furthermore, substantial funds have been allocated for infrastructure in the estate regions — water supply, transport, road improvements — and to develop tourism potential. Fearing loss of political clout, Jeevan Thondaman has resorted to incoherent outbursts in this House. On behalf of all plantation workers, I extend heartfelt thanks to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the NPP Government.