Sri Lankan tea workers get 25 percent raise

Sri Lanka, one of the world's largest exporters of tea, on Monday raised wages for hundreds of thousands of workers by nearly 25 percent as the island heads for a record crop. Workers will now be paid 515 rupees ($4.70) a day for the next two years, up from 415 rupees, Kanishka Weerasinghe, deputy director general of the Employers Federation of Ceylon, told AFP.
Seven unions, representing over 250,000 plantation workers, had demanded a minimum 500 rupee increment, or an increase of 120 percent, to offset rising living costs. The island's tea output is expected to hit a new record high this year, surpassing last year's production of 329.4 million kilos (724.7 million pounds), the Sri Lanka Tea Board said last month.