The Plantation workers strike entered the 10th day yesterday with no solution in sight and intervention by the Labour Minister Athauda Seneviratne failed to resolve the crisis

The strikers came out without the support of the main plantation unions such as the CWC or the LJEWU and Minister Arumugam Thondaman the CWC boss, Minister P. Chandrsekaran another plantation union leader did not support the workers’ struggle.

The strikers who moved out of the plantations in their thousands have decided to hold a Satyagraha opposite tea factories.

S. Sathasivam General Secretary of CWA a rival plantation trade union, a former CWC parliamentarian, who rebelled against Thondaman, said some of the leaders of the strike had been threatened by the main union bosses and prevented President Mahinda Rajapakse from intervening to resolve the problem.

President Mahinda Rajapakse has directed the Labour Minister Athauda Seneviratne to hold discussions with the strikers and Employers Federation but up to yesterday there was deadlock in the talks mainly due to rival plantation trade unions trying to exploit the strike for their own ends, senior Government sources told The Island yesterday.

Minister Arumugam Thondaman left for Nuwara Eliya yesterday and another round of talks with the strikers and the Employers was to be held and a compromise could be worked out at today’s talks, sources said.

Secretary Ministry of Labour Mahinda Madihewa said the strikers first demanded a wage of Rs.300 but they later came down to Rs.270.

He said the Minister of Labour Athuda Seneviratne was hopeful that an agreement could be reached between the Employers and strikers after talks with both sides, which he described as "fruitful".