Plantations look greener for a govt. playing politics for survival

While the JVP signalled its intention of voting against the government at the forthcoming budget last week and the LTTE gave notice that the stage was being set for a bloody war in November, President Mahinda Rajapakse moved to ensure his numbers add up for the crucial vote in November by roping in the CWC.

For all the bravado displayed, the government knew only too well its majority in the House was delicately poised given the JVP’s rejection the previous week of President Mahinda Rajapakse’s invitation to join the administration. And Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapakse was thereafter tasked with the job of securing the numbers, come November, which he set about doing targeting the CWC and a handful of UNP members.

In doing so, the two Rajapakse brothers decided the first line of attack should be to subdue the CWC using Up-country People’s Front Leader, Minister P. Chandrasekeran as bait by projecting him as the government’s point man for estate sector development. This was done in the belief it will bring Arumugam Thondaman scurrying back to the government for fear of losing his base.

To do so however the government had to come up with a ploy and on the advice of Basil Rajapakse decided on promoting a wage hike for the estate workers through Chandrasekeran despite the fact another salary revision was not due till December 2008 in terms of the collective agreement signed in December 2006.

With the strategy thus decided on, it did not matter to the government whether the plantation companies could afford another revision since what was of paramount importance to the government was its stability — and orders accordingly went out calling for an immediate wage hike.

Of course the government started looking at all the options available early September after the possibility of a snap general election was ruled out following negative opinion polls received by the President and it is in that backdrop Chandrasekeran was asked to start making noises on the plight of the plantation workers.

With the stage thus set, Labour Minister Athauda Seneviratne was directed to start negotiations with the plantation companies for a wage hike based on a Rs. 5000 minimum salary which he set about doing with the Planters’ Association and the Employers’ Federation.

At the initial stages of these discussions the plantation companies told the Minister there was a collective agreement between the employers and the trade unions which was valid till December 2008 and as such there was no justification for another salary revision mid stream.

The Minister was further told the economic situation in the country was such they could ill afford another hike at this point without seriously jeopardising the financial stability of at least some companies, pleas which fell on deaf ears.

As far as the government was concerned they had a strategy in place to secure the numbers in parliament and the economic constraints of the plantation companies did not come into the equation and Minister Seneviratne simply told them the President wanted the wage revision made before the budget.

And the government had the formula worked out too. As at the time of negotiations, a plantation worker received a daily basic wage of Rs. 170 plus Rs. 20 as a price share supplement and a Rs. 70 attendance incentive making a total of Rs. 260 per day. This sum the government wanted increased to Rs. 290 with the basic wage jacked up to Rs. 200 per day whereby the EPF and ETF would be calculated on the Rs. 200 as opposed to the Rs. 170.

Thus, when the plantation companies said such a hike would have a crippling effect on them given the annual additional cost amounting to almost Rs. 2 billion, Minister Seneviratne lost his cool.

Said the Minister — "The government has decided no one should get less than Rs. 5000 per month and you too are bound by it."

Replied the plantation companies — "They have the capacity to earn more than Rs. 5000 by working 25 days at Rs. 260 which amounts to Rs. 6,250.

Shot back Seneviratne — "That is OK but you are only paying EPF and ETF on Rs. 170. That does not come to Rs. 5000 if they work for 25 days. Therefore make it Rs. 200 per day and that would add upto Rs. 5000."

That formula was no doubt reasonable and the plantation companies said as much and readily agreed proposing that while keeping the all inclusive daily wage at Rs. 260, they would increase the basic wage to Rs. 200 per day thus complying with the government’s Rs. 5000 minimum wage demand.

But that was no good to a government looking to secure its numbers in parliament and Minister Seneviratne insisted that the total salary should be increased by Rs. 30 per day and EPF and ETF paid on it making the real cost to the companies an extra Rs. 38.33 per day for each worker.

Having done a quick calculation, the plantation companies told the Minister, according to their books there are 50 million man days for an year and an additional Rs. 38.33 per day would cost them Rs. 1.9 billion more without the gratuity topping up and was financially not feasible.

The Minister however disagreed and on that note the talks ended with no agreement reached and when the outcome was communicated to the Rajapakse brothers they were livid.

The President told Minister Seneviratne, there was no compromise on the issue since the future of the government was at stake and as such the plantation companies must be compelled to pay without leaving room for Thondaman to manoeuvre on the issue.

Thereafter, a meeting of the plantation company CEOs were summoned for a meeting at the Finance Ministry on October 4 and presiding at the meeting was none other than Minister Chandrasekeran flanked by Basil Rajapakse and Finance Secretary, P.B. Jayasundera.

At this meeting, quite oblivious to the fact he was being used as bait Chandrasekeran was asked to call the shots and he did so with glee.

And Chandrasekeran was to tell the plantation company CEOs that the workers must be given some relief with higher wages in addition to rice and flour at cheaper rates. He said, the plantation companies must help the government to distribute these essential items at discounted rates to the workers.

No sooner this meeting was over, the news was leaked that Chandrasekeran was to be given the leadership role in the estate sector by the government in the belief it would see Thondaman making peace overtures.

However, Thondaman too decided to dig his heels in and in a counter strategy not only made contact with UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe but also invited SLFP (M) Convener, Mangala Samaraweera to join him for a drink at a five star hotel, so that their public appearance would lead to more panic in the Rajapakse camp.

And when Samaraweera said he was otherwise occupied that night, Thondaman invited the SLFP (M) Convener to join him in Kotagala for the October 6-7 weekend.

In this cat and mouse game the logic was simple as far as the President was concerned. The UNP had 44 MPs, JVP 38, TNA 22 and SLFP (M) 2, making a total of 106. Throw in Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka and the six CWC MPs and the opposition would have the magical 113 to force a general election.

Therefore, it was of paramount importance for the President to do some arm twisting to get Thondaman on board thereby also weakening the opposition campaign to add up the numbers.

Upto that point, the government worked on Thondaman through CWC MP, Muthu Sivalingam who was told to inform his leader of steps taken to project Chandrasekeran as the state sector leader but that kite did not fly and finally the President decided to use some strong arm tactics.

Accordingly, he summoned a meeting of the plantation company CEOs, the Employers Federation, and the three trade unions including the CWC who were party to the collective agreement for a discussion on October 9 with Minister Seneviratne also in attendance.

And 24 hours before the October 9 meeting, the President was to address a public rally in Badulla where he set the stage by publicly calling on the plantation companies to meet the wage demand of the estate workers, charging it was unconscionable for them to make huge profits without adequately compensating the workers.

It is on that note, he first met with the plantation company CEOs on October 9, whilst the three trade unions including the CWC delegation comprising Thondaman, Sivalingam and R. Yogarajan waited in the wings.

At this meeting, the President got straight to business telling the plantation companies they must pay the Rs. 290 daily wage with no questions asked.

But it was easier said than done and the plantation companies said as much, explaining in detail the economic consequences to them and of the collective agreement already in place.

Replied the President — "All that is OK but do this for me."

He further said the plantation companies had unnecessarily made Thondaman a kingmaker and it was time he was cut to size.

"With this agreement he will not get any credit because he had nothing to do with it, so please go ahead and finalise it," the President said.

Unable to say no to such a direct request by the President, the plantation companies agreed but wanted the new collective agreement made effective for two years from the date of signing. That is until November 2009 there will be no further wage hikes.

Said the President, "That is very reasonable, consider it done."

With the deal thus clinched, the President invited the unions, CWC, LJEWU and the Joint Plantation Workers Union to make the announcement in the presence of the plantation companies but Thondaman had other ideas.

Even as they waited to be called in, Thondaman directed his senior advisor Yogarajan to make additional demands at the meeting so that it did not look like the CWC was joining the Chandrasekeran band wagon and caving into Rajapakse pressure.

Thus, no sooner the President announced the agreement reached with the plantation companies, the CWC expressed their disagreement, raising a series of other issues confronting the plantation workers.

And as the arguments and counter arguments continued, the President lost his cool and shouted down Thondaman in the presence of the plantation company CEOs.

This the President was compelled to do having minutes earlier told the CEOs that they were to blame for making Thondaman a kingmaker without cutting him down to size.

Said the President to Thondaman — "If you don’t agree to the terms I negotiated, do what you can. If you think you can topple the government try it and see. I also know what to do. You are being unreasonable. Lets see who will win."

With that said the President stormed out of the room, followed by the CWC members, with the plantation company CEOs too making their way to the exit only to be held back by Minister Seneviratne.

"Please stay. Lets see how this can be resolved," Seneviratne told the CEOs as Thondaman too left in a huff.

But before Thondaman and his delegation could exit Temple Trees, Additional Secretary to the President Gamini Senaratne came running and pleaded with the CWC Leader not to leave, stating Rajapakse had momentarily got angry and did not mean it.

Senaratne told Thondaman, his defiance of the President in front of the CEOs was humiliating and that Rajapakse had to stamp his authority by talking tough.

"Please, the President is waiting, let us go and talk to him and sort this out," Senaratne said.

With that mea culpa by Senaratne the CWC Leader agreed to meet with the President, where Thondaman clearly stated he too could not be belittled in front of the unions and plantation companies especially in the backdrop of Chandrasekeran used as a bait against him.

He further said the CWC will have no option otherwise than to oppose the budget, a threat that was not lost on the President.

Thondaman told the President, he too must get some political mileage out of the issue and that the least expected is not to allow the collective agreement to last till November 2009. Thondaman said, with the financial year ending on March 31, 2009, the collective agreement too should expire at that time, so that he can negotiate for another wage hike before the general election.

The President agreed to go along with Thondaman provided he agreed to rejoin the government and take cabinet office, no sooner the agreement with the plantation companies is signed. In addition, the President also wanted an assurance the CWC will support the budget. Thondaman agreed to accept cabinet office but was non committal on the budget.

With the deal thus sealed, Rajapakse and kingmaker Thondaman walked back into the conference room, where the plantation company CEOs were eagerly waiting to see the humbling of the CWC chief but what was in store for them was a shock of no mean proportions.

Said the President, no sooner he walked in — "Now there is nothing more to discuss. Pay the Rs. 30 increment and sign the agreement now."

Taken aback, the plantation company representatives said thus — "We have to inform our companies about the implications of the agreement before signing anything."

Retorted the President — "All of you are CEOs are you not? If you can’t decide, why did you come here? Take whatever decision you want and sign it."

Explained the CEOs — "We can do that but some of the companies are public quoted companies and some limited liability companies and there is a procedure involved."

Retorted the President, "Then tomorrow evening, we have to sign it. So take your decision and come to sign it. If you don’t come to sign by tomorrow evening, I will Gazette it."

Left with no choice, the plantation companies referred the President to their request for the agreement to be valid for two years, which Rajapakse had earlier said was reasonable and sought reaffirmation.

But the response of the President was to shock the plantation companies, with it clearly being evident he had succumbed to the kingmaker’s pressure.

Said Rajapakse — "No, two years cannot be given. The financial year ends March 31, 2009 and the agreement will be valid upto that point only."

Thus ended the drama with the CWC delegation exiting all smiles and no sooner they left the President’s office, a call was made to the UNP Leader where a full briefing was given with it being explained that they would be assuming office for tactical reasons until the time was opportune for them to reassess their position.

The question however is whether the President has gained in real terms with the Thondaman deal considering the alienation of the UPF’s two MPs who now know they were used as bait to lure Thondaman back to cabinet.

Furthermore, two of the six CWC MPs are having a dialogue with the UNP and could well break ranks if Thondaman sticks with the government, which would give the opposition four additional votes, taking them to 111 in parliament as opposed to the government’s 112 in such a scenario. And all it would then take is the cross over of only two more MPs.

It is the fear of losing the majority in parliament under such circumstances that prompted the government to also decide to avoid debating the Milinda Moragoda no-confidence motion before the budget, certain it would be a sure fire loss.

Though the government’s attempts to duck the debate despite a call by Moragoda no less to take it up early is in itself a no-confidence on the Tourism Minister, the President did not want to take any chances notwithstanding the negative impact it will have on the UNP defector.

For, several ministers including the likes of Rohitha Bogollagama and Anura Bandaranaike have informed the government they would want a conscience vote on the issue whilst the CWC and four JHU MPs too had indicated they might abstain, which meant, Moragoda would have for certain lost the vote, a chance the President obviously did not want to take in the lead upto the budget.

What has really caused panic in the government of course is the certainty the JVP will now vote against it, with the party going so far as to challenge the constitutionality of the Appropriation Bill in the Supreme Court.

In the petition filed by Colombo District MP, Sunil Handunnetti, specific references are made to clauses in the Bill which are alleged to be unconstitutional necessitating a two third majority and approved by the people at a referendum. Simply put the budget to be presented on the basis of the Appropriation Bill is unconstitutional as far as the JVP was concerned.

Thus, having challenged the Bill in the Supreme Court as being unconstitutional the JVP will be hard put to vote for it at the budget and it is this message which had made the government realise, the Marxists are a goner come November.

And a further insight on the JVP thinking came with the blistering attack launched by frontliner, Anura Kumara Dissanayake at a party seminar in Gampaha last Sunday, where he said Rajapakse’s was the weakest and most incompetent government Sri Lanka has seen post independence.

Said Dissanayake inter alia — "Now people eagerly await for the 2004 government to fall. It is easily done. This is the weakest government post independence. It survives on charitable crumbs and has not a leg to stand on. If this is toppled, and it should be done and done fast, the next government should have the courage to create a new economic order. We should now get mobilised for such a political journey."

Added he for effect — There is an advisor who is now a MP who is known as Mister 10% for such is his dubious reputation. There are allegations of corruption with regard to military procurements and the stench emanating from the MiG 27 deal is indescribable. Sri Lanka has a population of 20 million people and 107 ministers. How to stem corruption, wasteful expenditure with this kind of top heavy administration which was created only to appease a handful?"

Strong words indeed coming from a JVP politburo member which makes it virtually impossible for the party to now vote for the budget and that is yet another reason why the government is looking to break the party and attract the likes of Wimal Weerawansa and Bimal Ratnayake.

Further to this move, the government is also lobbying UNP MPs, Mohamed Maharoof, Jayawickrema Perera, Chandrani Bandara, Earl Gunasekera and Ranjith Maddumabandara with promises of ministerial office, attempts which the UNP Leader has been briefed on.

The lobbying is done on the basis that were they to cross over before the budget, they will be given plum ministries since it would seal the fate of the opposition then attracting members from the government ranks.

While this politicking is going on apace in the south, the LTTE has signalled its intention of taking the fight to the government come November which necessarily means more hardships for the public at large.

And to prove they still have the capacity to strike at will for all the brouhaha about being crushed militarily, Yala was targeted last week even as the peak tourism season approaches.

That if nothing else should tell the government the battle is only about to begin and it will do well for the Rajapakse brothers to get back to the drawing boards and map out an overall strategy for the country rather than plan tactics to survive for the day.