The Ceylon Estate Staffs' Union (CESU) has decided to launch a Telegram Protest Campaign to defeat the efforts of the plantation companies to delay this collective bargaining agreement without providing a fair salary increase for their staff.
The association says that this protest campaign will be effective from October 7 to 10, 2025.
The telegram/telemail will be forwarded to the CEO/COO of the respective plantation company and all members will actively work towards this, says the Executive Committee of the Ceylon Estate Staffs' Union (CESU).
An inquiry was made to the General Secretary of the Ceylon Estate Staffs' Union, Chathura Samarasinghe, in this regard.
Pointing out that the Lanka Employees' Federation is continuously delaying the signing of the collective agreement to be signed with the Ceylon Estate Staffs' Union by avoiding the demand for a salary increase in line with the current cost of living, the Ceylon Estate Staffs' Union emphasizes that it will take up the fight to win its just demand.
Accordingly, the Lanka Estate Services Union has launched a campaign to send electronic messages to the heads of the estate companies in protest against the delay in signing the agreement by the employers, the General Secretary said.
Currently, estate staff members working in estates across the island have sent electronic messages to their employers to express their protest against the delay in signing the collective agreement.
Commenting further on this matter, General Secretary of the Ceylon Estate Staffs' Union, Chathura Samarasinghe, said that the Lanka Employees' Federation, which represents 22 estate companies, does not seem ready to provide a fair salary increase to the estate staff members considering the current cost of living, and that the delay in signing the collective agreement has caused unrest among its members.
The General Secretary also stated that as a responsible trade union, this situation cannot be tolerated any longer, and the executive board of the union is prepared to take strict action based on the response of the employers to the peaceful action it has launched.