Thonda opposes lease of tea estates to private sector

Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) Leader and Livestock Development and Rural Economy Minister Arumugam Thondaman has expressed concerns over the Government’s plan to lease out tea estates under the purview of the Janatha Estate Development Board (JEDB) to the private sector.

In a statement he said that estate workers have been left in the lurch without even payments sometimes, when companies and individuals had abandoned tea estates taken out on lease by them.

Thondaman has said that he has requested State Resources and Enterprise Development Minister Dayashritha Tissera to consult the unions before making a final decision on leasing out the estates and to study the history of the companies before handing any estates to them.

According to the Minister, the JEDB managed estates had reduced the number of working days for estate workers, had not paid gratuities to retired workers and even defaulted in the payment of Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) and Employees Trust Fund (ETF) contributions.

He has added that three plantation companies owed nearly Rs. 1 billion to workers.

Thondaman has said that some estate workers have even died without receiving their gratuity payments. (Colombo Page)