Twenty plantation companies have filed a writ petition in the Court of Appeal yesterday seeking to nullify the gazette notification issued by the government increasing the daily wage of plantation workers to Rs. 1000 / -.
The petitioners allege that the abrupt increase in the wages of plantation workers would put the plantation industry, which pays large taxes to the government, in crisis, and that the increase in the wages of plantation workers could cause inconvenience to companies.
It is reported that Minister of Labor Nimal Siripala de Silva, Commissioner General of Labor Pannarabath Chandrakeerthi and the Chairman of the Wage Board of the Tea Industry have been named as respondents in the petition filed by 20 plantation companies including Agarapathana Plantation Company and Elpitiya Plantation Company.
The petition filed by 20 estate companies through Attorney-at-Law Sanath Wijewardena states that the tea and rubber plantation companies are large scale companies and employ thousands of workers in their estates.