Digambaram threatens to quit over estate workers salary issue

30 January 2019 07:41 pm

Government ally, the Tamil Progressive Front (TPF) today threatened to quit the government if the salaries of estate workers are not increased at least by Rs. 150, Estate Infrastructure Development Minister P. Digambaram said today.

Minister Digambaram said they will make the final decision after meeting Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on March 1, 2019. “We have already informed our stance to the Prime Minister and he had called us, Plantations Minister Navin Dissanayake and Labour Minister Ravinda Samaraweera. We will quit if we will not reach an amicable settlement on that day,” the Minister said.

The Minister also said MP Arumugan Thondaman and State Minister Vadivel Suresh have let the workers down by getting their trade unions to sign the collective agreement. He said workers have been misled as the gross salary has been made to Rs.700 per day, though they were told that their basic salary would be increased to Rs. 700. ‘The allowance of Rs.15 which was paid earlier has been stopped and we request this allowance must be reintroduced,” he added.(Yohan Perera)

 

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