Dec 01, Colombo: Sri Lanka Planters' Association (PA) says that the wage bill of the plantation companies has gone up by around two billion rupees a year due to the recent pay hike. The wages now account for 60 percent of the costs of plantations says the PA.

The situation has burdened five or six large companies with financial difficulties, says the PA. The situation has impeded the replanting and factory-upgrading processes too, said a spokesman of the PA.

Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s direct involvement in wage issue of the estate workers led to the original two year wage deal to be replaced with a one valid for one year and five months, PA complains.