Upcountry Tamil workers demand wage increase

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 November 2006, 12:05 GMT]
Upcountry workers at Hatton Bogawantalawa tea-estate stayed away from work and picketed Wednesday, demanding increase in salary for estate workers, sources in Hatton said. A similar protest campaign was carried out in Talawakkele today. The work stoppage is a continuation of the protest campaign started at the Hatton bus depot Saturday, organizers of the protest said.



Several hundred workers wore black bands and walked through the tea-estate to express their wage demand, sources said.

The workers requested a minimum increase of Rs.400 ($3.75) a month, officials of Hatton-Weli Oya Social Development Committee which organized the protests, said.

Although four months have passed since decisons were taken by the Estate Employers Federation on wage issues, no action has been taken until now, the workers complained.



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