The Ceylon Workers Alliance said yesterday that it would launch a general strike, if the government does not grant estate workers a basic salary of Rs. 405.

General Secretary of the CWA and Uva Provincial Council Member S. Sathasivam told a news conference in Colombo that the present basic wage of Rs. 285, was grossly inadequate and the workers cannot live on it.

"The Labour Minister has betrayed us, with the assistance of those aligned to the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime," he said. "To obtain an extra Rs.120, workers have to clock in for a minimum of 19 days in the month and also pluck between 18 to 20 kilograms of tea per day. This target is not easy to achieve in the present situation."

Sathasivam said that a signature campaign has already commenced in the estates, demanding that Rs. 405 be made the basic salary." It will be presented to the Labour Minister and Estate Managements shortly."

One of the reasons for the CWA joining the newly formed UNF, he said was because there has been no satisfactory resolution of the estate workers problems.

"The government has also failed to resolve the grievances of the Tamil people, after having made many promises," Sathasivam said. "It is six months since the war was over, but power has still not been devolved. The proceedings of the APRC are being dragged on, purely to buy time until all the elections are over."