Estate workers will be paid Rs.1,000 from April onward – Minister

Minister of Plantations, Ramesh Pathirana stated in Parliament today (06) that the government will give Rs. 1,000 salary to all estate workers from April.

He stated this while delivering a verbal response to a question put forward by MP Waruna Liyanage in parliament this morning. 

Thereby, Minister Pathirana said that all plantation companies are legally obliged to pay this Rs. 1,000 daily wage to the estate workers, the Government Information Department reported.

He said that for the first time in history, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has allocated Rs. 1.5 billion from the budget for plantation industries and export crops including tea, rubber, and coconut.

The Minister further stated that the government has taken steps to provide drought relief to all those who submitted applications to the Tea Small Holdings Development Authority last year.