Wage hike for estate workers: The most contentious Budgetary proposal

THE 2026 Budget presented by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake was widely praised for its commitment towards reforms and maintaining fiscal discipline. Every Budget has its pros and cons, and the 2nd Budget presented by the NPP Government is no different. However, the proposal to raise the salaries of estate workers has attracted considerable attention and scrutiny out of all the proposals.

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The 2026 Budget proposed to increase the current minimum daily wage of Rs. 1,350 to Rs, 1,550 from January 2026. In addition to the salary hike, it has been proposed to pay Rs. 200 as a daily attendance incentive, and the Budget has set aside Rs. 5 billion to fund the payments. Many have questioned the merit in the Government allocating taxpayers’ money to plantation companies that have earned millions of profits. Some members of the parliamentary Committee on Public Finance (COPF) have opined that the payment of such an attendance allowance from the Budgetary allocations to estate workers who are employed by private plantation companies is unlawful.

Confusion has also arisen regarding the eligibility criteria of the Government-funded attendance allowance.