Estate workers who come to know about pay-rise, across FB ... rock to Galle Face!

Estate workers who come to know about pay-rise, across FB ... rock to Galle Face!

A large number of estate workers surrounded Colombo yesterday (24) demanding a pay-rise in their daily wages as never before in history. The convenor of the protest mentioned that they have come there after coming to know across social media websites.

It is of special interest to note that this crowd of tea-pluckers who came to Colombo at their own expense did not represent any political party as such. These estate labourers who engaged in the protest demanded that their daily wages be increased upto Rs. 1,000 starting their protest march in

front of Colombo - Fort railway station, thereafter arriving at Lotus Road and proceeded to hand over a petition. On the promise made by President's Secretariat that a date will be notified in the future to hand over their message in writing after which estate-workers dispersed and subsequently gathered at the park on which occasion the police subsequently took action to disperse them.

Web media person Harendran who made this crowd understand across social network websites that their basic salary is presently Rs. 530 had this to say: "We do not know any of these people personally. But estate-workers have an issue where their salaries are concerned. However no government has taken step to increase the daily wages upto Rs. 1,000. From the water bottles upto everything else that these people have brought with them is only with the daily wage of Rs. 530 that they earn. We organised this across social network websites with ten of us getting together. But by now Politics keep creeping in to this. However I have no Politics as such. I actually appear on behalf of the estate labour-force".