Sri Lanka, March 15 -- Negotiations have been held with plantation company employers regarding the Rs.1,700 salary for plantation workers and the Government will take firm steps to provide it, Plantation and Community Infrastructure Minister Samantha Vidyaratne informed Parliament.

The Minister said that some companies have individually agreed to it and told the House that continuous talks are being held to reach a general agreement. He made this statement in response to some issues raised in Parliament yesterday by UNP MP Jeevan Thondaman during the Committee stage Budget debate on the expenditure heads for the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure.

Minister Vidyaratne said:"The current salary of plantation workers is not...