SMS campaign by trade unions over wages

Eleven trade unions in Sri Lanka have joined hands to launch an agitation campaign to raise the minimum wage and the budgetary relief allowance for nine million private and informal sector workers faced with rising cost of living.

Three million of nine mllion workers have not been covered by any law at present, unions say.

Discrimination in the payment of the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) for public and private sector employees and the failure to gazette the new unit cost value of Rs.280 was another factor that prompted Sri Lanka's trade unions to launch this agitation campaign, they said.

In a letter to the President, the unions urged him to settle the matter of a COL component in the wages of employees and to raise the Wages Boards minimum wage to Rs. 12,500 from the current meager sum of Rs.7,900 and to pay a Budgetary Relief Allowance of Rs. 5000 for workers, protest convenor T.M.R. Rasseedin told the Business Times.

On Sunday, at least 300 delegates from these unions are meeting in Colombo to discuss these issues. Mr Rasseedin said resolutions on wages board's minimum wages, budgetary relief allowance and the unit value of the Cost of Living Index of Rs. 280 will be passed at the meeting.

A decision will be taken to pursue these three main issues confronting the country's workers.

In order to create necessary public opinion in the country in support of the demands of the unions an SMS campaign will be launched at the end of the proceedings, he revealed

Anton Marcus,general Secretary- Free Trade Zones & General Services Employees Union of Sri Lanka said the current minimum wage of Rs. 7,900 is not sufficient for day to day living of these employees. Thus they are demanding a minimum wage of Rs.12,500 for all private and informal sector workers, he said, adding that the President or his office has so far not responded to their request.