The Hon. Jeevan Thondaman

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I wish to raise key issues relating to the estate sector.

¶ 02 On estate workers’ wages: Government announced a Rs. 1,750 basic daily wage for estate workers, effective from January 10 and to be paid to workers by February 10, with an additional Rs. 200 provided—Rs. 200 via the plantation companies and Rs. 200 from the Budget allocation. I ask the government to monitor implementation closely.

¶ 03 So far, plantation companies have not issued any circulars to their superintendents and estate managers regarding this. Please send the circulars. Managers are saying they can only pay upon receiving circulars.

¶ 04 Further, the Hon. Minister of Plantations, Vasanta Samarasinghe, told me in this House that task norms (nom) will not be increased under any pretext—if it is 18 kg, it will remain 18 kg—and that working on Sundays and holidays would receive one-and-a-half day’s pay. We now hear attempts to alter these—denying 1.5x pay on Sundays/holidays and tampering with benefits. This causes great dissatisfaction among workers. The Labour Ministry must appoint a monitoring committee to ensure fair implementation.

¶ 05 I supported the Budget, even as an Opposition MP, in the hope that this wage would be guaranteed. If the Wages Board issues the Rs. 1,750 basic wage by Gazette, it will remove room for companies to manipulate implementation. When I was Minister, despite many local disruptions by company managers, only after gazetting could we compel compliance.

¶ 06 Another issue: Companies that make profits hide them, showing only losses. Upon announcement of Rs. 1,750, I welcomed it. Simultaneously, companies are rushing to convert estates to outgrower systems in places like Deniyaya and Kegalle. I am not opposed to outgrowers per se, but the system is unregulated. This results in vastly different rates—Rs. 70/kg in Udupussellawa, Rs. 60 in Deniyaya, Rs. 40 in Kegalle—with no ETF/EPF in many cases, exploiting labor. I do not ask to abolish outgrowers, but to bring them under a regulated framework and streamline the model, ensuring fair pay and statutory benefits.

¶ 07 On the recent storm and floods: There are serious allegations that Rs. 25,000 and Rs. 50,000 relief payments have not reached many areas in the hill country. A government member said about 8,127 persons received Rs. 25,000. According to the Presidential-approved DMC report, there are 6,691 affected families in Nuwara Eliya District—roughly 20,000 persons. If only 8,127 persons were paid, what about the remaining roughly 14,000? Please clarify and rectify.

¶ 08 IDP camps are still in schools; when schools restart, where will those people go? NBRO is asking many to return to their houses, but many locations have suffered landslides and houses are unsafe. We must identify alternative land. At a District Development Committee meeting, His Excellency the President indicated that 150,000 families would need about 900,000 acres—i.e., 6 perches each; realistically, families need about 10 perches. Plantation companies hold about 204,000 hectares. We must find workable land solutions.

¶ 09 If donors—INGOs, foreign governments, or the government itself—are to build houses, plantation companies must provide alternate land parcels now so rebuilding can commence. Funding can come from the government; actual house construction can be by donors, as done in the North and East. In the hills, progress is painfully slow due to land unavailability. Without land rights, people lack identity and security. Estates tell people: if you work here, we value you; if not, you are discarded. We need a durable solution—use this disaster as an opportunity to finally provide secure land to estate communities so future crises are avoided.

¶ 10 Finally, to members who repeatedly make personal attacks on me: that will not build houses or solve wage issues. Many quietly supported setting up councils; only we—the Congress and I—openly supported you. People’s trust in you is the reason; please focus on delivery. Thank you.