9 February 2022 07:13 am Views - 838
TPA MP P. Digambaram yesterday called for a Rs 5,000 salary increment to the estate workers saying everyone should be treated equally.
Speaking in Parliament, MP Digambaram said the estate sector has not got anything which was promised by the incumbent government.
“A Rs 5,000 salary increment was given to government sector workers and it was promised that estate sector workers will be provided with 15 Kg of flour.
They were also promised a daily wage of Rs 1,000. They have not got anything. All people should be treated equally. Therefore, we propose a Rs 5,000 pay hike for estate workers,” the MP said.
“We face many issues today as there are no adequate stocks of rice, gas and other essential items. There is a talk of power cuts as well. India has come forward to help Sri Lanka at this difficult time and had given US$ 900 million. A dialogue is on between Sri Lanka and India to give a further US$ one billion on credit. I thank the Indian government and the people for this assistance. Some trade unions are quiet when Sri Lanka deals with China but oppose when Sri Lanka deals with India. What I suggest is that we deal with India and China in a similar way. Sri Lanka should not distance itself from India. It is Sri Lanka which is going to suffer it such a thing takes place,” he added. (YOHAN PERERA AND AJITH SIRIWARDANA)