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The plantation workers in Sri Lanka have refused a government request to wait for the outcome of a special commission on increasing their wages. Deputy Labour minister, Dr. Mervyn Silva, who visited striking workers in Hatton urged them to stop the strike until a presidential commission investigate pay anomalies. The minister, who carried the special request from President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was hackled by plantation workers. He expressed regret that workers hackled the messenger, who visited them "instead of discussing with the union leaders in Colombo". Leader of the Up Country Peoples Front (UPF), minister P Chandrasekaran, said the workers would not return to work until the authorities increase their salaries. The workers of Indian origin have been on strike for 13 days demanding the authorities increase daily wage to Rs. 300. A proposal by the employers to increase their daily wages upto Rs. 250 was rejected by the workers. Main union leaders representing plantation workers, P Chandrasekaran and CWC leader A Thondaman, recently joined Rajapaksa government. | LOCAL LINKS  Plantation workers stop train12 December, 2006 | Sandeshaya | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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