The Hon. Jeevan Thondaman

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairman, let me start off by wishing all my Islamic brothers and sisters a Happy Ramadan, especially the Hon. Deputy Speaker who has been chairing the House since morning.

¶ 02 Yesterday, Hon. Members Sanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam, Namal Rajapaksa and Faizer Mustapha spoke clearly about the wages of plantation workers. On behalf of the hill country people, I thank them. I could not be here yesterday because I went to Hatton where in the Shannon Estate KM Division, 26 houses caught fire. Over 100 people live there, including 19 children. No relief has yet been provided to those affected. I immediately went, assessed the situation, spoke with the estate manager and arranged some urgent measures.

¶ 03 In the hill country, nearly 3,500 houses have been affected by fires and other disasters. For a long time, there has been a wrong policy of not classifying houses affected by fire as disaster-affected. As a result, many people live in temporary shelters without a permanent solution. When such fires occur, some managers are happy. In “line rooms”, both estate workers and non-workers live. After a disaster, people are displaced. If the Government later provides a house or land, the estate manager gives it only to those working on the estate, excluding others, thereby displacing many from their own land. I request the Government to address this.

¶ 04 On social protection and social empowerment: we must understand we have just emerged from an economic crisis. No one is here to claim credit. Politics aside, let us think about social protection. There are about 110,000 estate workers in the hill country. Previously, EPF/ETF were deducted through the Government, but some managers misreported these accounts.

¶ 05 Now, large estate companies are shifting from a daily wage model to a revenue-sharing model, which could be welcome. But using the term “revenue sharing”, they deny workers their social protection. They label workers as “revenue managers” or “block managers”, say they are now partners with no daily wage, offer Rs. 80 per kg of green leaf, and then refuse to pay EPF/ETF. Services due to them are also not properly provided. Think: the estate manager buys tea from the worker at Rs. 60 per kg and sells the same at Rs. 200, while workers do not receive fair wages or recognition. The Government must take appropriate action.

¶ 06 On ‘Aswesuma’: In 2023, when I was Minister, we introduced it. A major issue was that we could not pay ‘Aswesuma’ to those working in the large estates, or to unidentified persons there. The estate manager determined identities. We submitted a Cabinet paper to include those working in estates within the scheme. ‘Aswesuma’ reportedly has about 24 criteria. One key criterion is that those engaged in a registered occupation are ineligible. Estate workers are registered workers; due to this, many are not properly receiving benefits.

¶ 07 On health: Only about 40 percent of people in the hill country get quality health services. Many children are affected. Poverty in the hill country was 23 percent before COVID-19; after COVID and the economic crisis it rose to 57 percent. Of the 19 children affected in the Shannon Estate fire I mentioned, four have become orphans. I am not here to say the Government failed entirely. Let us stop blaming and look at the real issues.

¶ 08 Historically, from 1948 to 1977 — indeed until 2009 — this community lacked citizenship. During delimitation, hill country Tamils were not counted. Hence, impacts today are severe. Elsewhere in Sri Lanka, a Grama Niladhari division covers about 250–500 people; but in places like Kirkoswald in the hills, one division covers about 8,000. This is because hill country Tamils were excluded at delimitation. We must correct this so Government services properly reach our people. Without doing this, the change we seek is hard. A GN can serve 500–700 people, not 8,000–10,000; problems are inevitable.

¶ 09 Samurdhi provided some help to the poor, but how many in the hill country received it? When did a Samurdhi Officer last visit an estate line-room? The problem is systemic. We have long spoken about land rights; beyond that, there is an administrative issue we can fix if we choose. There may be political objections, but with 159 Government MPs, solutions are possible; we will support them. Without new delimitation, services will not fully reach the hill country.

¶ 10 On health infrastructure: There are about 456 Estate Medical Agencies under the estate companies. The companies should pay the doctors, develop the facilities and infrastructure. They have not. We obtained Cabinet approval to address this but could not implement due to the crisis. PHDT under Mr. Lal has full details, as does the Ministry Secretary. If the Government takes responsibility for these 456 EMAs, it will greatly benefit the people.

¶ 11 Finally, there are 1,197 child care centres (creches) in the hill country; we developed 597 through the World Bank; the remaining 600 have not been upgraded as the programme is halted. Please resume it.

¶ 12 Lastly, I was not present when Hon. Harshana Nanayakkara allegedly called the former President a thief and a beggar. People voted for change in administration and political culture. For the Minister of Justice and National Integration, whom I respect, to call the person who saved the country a beggar and a thief is irrational; he should apologize. Enough with parading lists. If something illegal was done, take action; if not, what is the point? I condemn what was said about the former President. People judge actions, not petty insults. Thank you.