Govt. must intervene to increase daily wage: Digambaram

26 October 2018 12:35 am

The government should intervene in addressing the estate workers' demand for a daily wage of Rs.1000, if not he will have to reconsider his decision to be in the government, Hill Country New Villages, Infrastructure and Community Development Minister Palani Digambaram said.

Recently, estate workers carried out several protest campaigns demanding that their basic daily wage of Rs.500 be increased to Rs.1000.

The minister told a news conference that the Government had the capacity to intervene and resolve this issue.

“I heard the owners of estates saying that they could not increase the daily wage because their factories were making losses. It is not true. They earn enough profits but they pretend that their factories are running at a loss,” the minister said.

“I urge the estate owners to hand over their businesses to the Government, if they can’t run them properly."

He said he had informed Plantation Minister Navin Dissanayake about what was happening and that this matter would be discussed on Monday. (Sheain Fernandopulle)