Leading News from Sri Lanka::

* President orders to raise basic daily wage of estate workers to Rs. 1000

Wed, Jan 15, 2020, 11:11 am SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Jan 15, Colombo: Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has decided the minimum daily wage of estate workers should be Rs. 1000 with effect from 1 March 2020.

Estate workers have been demanding the plantation companies to increase the basic salary up to Rs 1000 per day for several years.

The President has instructed to take immediate steps to develop all sectors of the estate sector including infrastructure in parallel to the daily wage increase.

The government has taken several steps to enhance the quality and productivity of the tea industry including tax relief, fertilizer subsidy and many other concessions.

The President emphasized that since these concessions are granted to the estate companies, the benefits of that should be passed on to the plantation workers too.

The President stated that the government’s intention is to provide the benefits to the workers in line with the development of the manufacturing and industrial sectors.