Marking International Tea Day with a call for justice rather than celebration, a group of estate workers staged a protest in front of the Nuwara Eliya Town Hall on Wednesday (21), demanding wage increases and land ownership rights while rejecting the government’s offer of housing apartments.
The demonstration, led by workers and supported by local NGOs and trade union activists, drew attention to long-standing grievances faced by the Malaiyaha Tamil community, whose labour has been the backbone of Sri Lanka’s tea industry for generations.
Carrying placards asserting their ethnic identity and fundamental rights, protestors made it clear that the solution lies not in high-rise housing but in access to individual land plots.
“We don’t want apartments stacked one over the other. We need land. Something permanent and dignified for every family,” said one protestor.
The demands were not limited to housing. Calls for a substantial pay hike echoed through the rally, with several speakers decrying the low wages that have persisted despite the estate sector’s vital role in the national economy.
A woman leading the protest extended the plea further, asking the government to address the rights and compensation of expatriate female workers as well.
“We are sending our women overseas to earn a living, yet they too are underpaid and unprotected. We need justice for them as well,” she said.
Activists present at the scene accused successive governments of neglecting the estate community and failing to deliver even basic rights.
“Despite our contribution to the country’s exports and economy, we continue to live in poverty, with no land, no dignity, and no future,” one protester added.
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