It’s true that Ceylon Tea hasn’t got a long history as Chinese tea. Tea was first grown commercially in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) by the Scottish planter James Taylor in 1867. Eventually Ceylon Tea became one of the finest tasting teas in the world thanks to her overall, well balanced tasting profile with ideal strength, body, aroma and flavour. During this short history, Asia’s Sweetheart (Sri Lanka) had the honour of having highly skilled plantation workers, specially tea pluckers. With no doubt They are the unsung heroes who really contributed for the betterment of “Pure Ceylon Tea”. 

According to the GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA released on 05.03.2021, Sri Lankan plantation worker salaries increased as below,

The minimum rate of daily wage for time work
i. Minimum daily wage Labour – Rs. 900.00 (Roughly USD 4.73)
ii. Budgetary Relief Allowance – Rs. 100.00 (Roughly USD 0.50)

So all together it’s around USD 5.23 per day. This decision should be valid with effect from 05th March 2021.

EARLIER EARNINGS OF CEYLON TEA PLANTATION WORKERS

Earlier, tea plantation workers must be paid a minimum of LKR 680.00 (USD 3.57) a day, subject to satisfactory attendance during the month. In addition, they are paid EPF at 12% of basic salary of Rs. 545.00 and 3% for ETF, making the total wages Rs. 761.75 (USD 4.00). Sri Lankan tea plantation workers generally work only for about 6 hours from 0730 h to 1330 h including 30 min for a tea break. They have to stop tea plucking early so that the day’s collection could be handed over after weighing to the lorry which arrives around 1400 h. A tea plucker works for a maximum of 22 days a month since it takes about a week for a new shoot to develop to be plucked again.

Click here……. to learn more about other benefits enjoyed by Sri Lankan plantation workers.

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References

1. Sri Lanka Government Gazette: https://www.gazette.lk/