We will continue to fight against informalisation of labour -CWRFU

The Ceylon Workers Red Flag Union (CWRFU) stood out in protest on recently, 2025, at the Court of Appeal Premises, Hulftsdorp. This silent protest was held against informalisation, a system that has threatened to upend the lives of the workers in the tea and rubber plantation sector within the country. Before delving into what informalisation implies as a phenomenon, it is necessary to have an understanding of the gravity of the problem.

- By Aakil Riyaz

Background to the problem

In 2017, the Ceylon Workers’ Red Flag Union filed a case against a tea company on the grounds of ‘informalisation’ at the Morawaka Labour Department and the Matara Labour Department later on. The case was filed on the grounds that the tea company had decided to pivot from the check roll system to the bought leaf system, without consulting the estate workers or the relevant unions. Following another case was filed in 2019 at the Industrial Relations Division, Colombo District, which went on from 2019 to 2021, wherein a recommendation was given by the Division. The recommendation stated that the company would have to revert to the check roll system, and in the event they did not wish to do so, they would continue with the bought leaf system, but with the caveat of having to provide the workers with all the benefits under Sri Lankan labour laws. In 2022, the tea company filed a case against this decision in the Court of Appeal.

Initially, the government failed to file an objection, even though the case involves both the government and the Ceylon Workers’ Red Flag Union. The union submitted its objection, but the government did not file theirs. Despite appealing the decision on February 17, 2022, the government did not respond with an objection until 2024. The case continued to drag on, and in 2025, the court resumed hearing. The court requested both parties—the government and the Union—together, and the tea company—to submit written submissions concerning the objection by June 20, 2025. The court will review these submissions, and the next hearing is scheduled for July 3, 2025.