Why Sri Lanka needs an HRM revolution now

By Dammike Kobbekaduwe

Sri Lanka’s plantation sector is at a defining moment in its long, complex history. While tea, rubber, coconut, and other perennial crops have contributed immeasurably to national income and rural employment, the management of the plantation workforce remains one of the weakest dimensions of the entire value chain. The fundamental problem is that the industry continues to operate without basic human resource management (HRM) systems—systems that every modern organisation, from banking to manufacturing to hospitality, considers essential. Plantation labour is still managed through outdated practices inherited from colonial times, where workers were viewed merely as daily labourers rather than skilled professionals. This neglect has had far-reaching consequences on productivity, worker dignity, labour retention, and long-term sector competitiveness.

The absence of HRM is not an abstract policy issue but a concrete structural flaw. For example, most estate jobs—from tea plucker to rubber tapper to coconut harvester—have no formal personnel specifications or job descriptions. Workers are rarely told what competencies they must develop, what productivity benchmarks they must meet, or what career pathways they can aspire to. When roles are undefined, managers cannot objectively measure performance, workers cannot evaluate themselves, and conflict becomes inevitable. A plantation sector without HRM is like a factory without engineering controls: it simply cannot operate efficiently.

This lack of structure has also created a serious vacuum in productivity planning. Sri Lanka does not maintain minimum productivity targets tied to wages, even though global agricultural economies rely heavily on such standards. In crops like tea, rubber, and coconut, productivity is the bridge that allows employers to pay liveable wages while maintaining financial viability. Without defined yield benchmarks per hectare or daily task standards, wages become divorced from value creation. Ultimately, employers are forced to pay politically negotiated rates rather than economically justified ones. This disconnect has been so severe that political leaders are repeatedly dragged into wage battles solely to maintain peace and order in large estates. When wage setting becomes a political firefight rather than an economic decision, the sector’s sustainability is compromised.

Equally damaging is the absence of mechanisation planning. In most plantations today, daily paid employees continue to perform “bull work”—heavy, repetitive tasks that should have already been replaced by ergonomic tools or simple mechanised solutions. Global competitors have long adopted cost-effective technologies that reduce drudgery, increase precision, and protect worker health. In Sri Lanka, however, mechanisation remains underutilised. When the labour force is shrinking and ageing, forcing workers to engage in physically harsh work is unsustainable. Modern plantations should enable employees to perform smart work rather than punishing tasks. Without mechanisation, neither productivity nor worker dignity can be improved.

One of the clearest illustrations of the professionalism hidden within plantation labour is the role of the rubber tapper. A fully competent tapper capable of tapping 300 trees a day is not merely a labourer; he is a highly skilled agricultural technician. His work demands knowledge of plant physiology, knife handling, bark management, latex flow behaviour, stimulant application, pest detection, nutrient timing, and environmental factors. The tapper must begin work before sunrise, because rubber trees release up to 30 per cent more latex during early-morning turgor pressure cycles. He must harvest latex without any additives, maintain strict hygiene, sharpen tools correctly, prevent bark damage, ensure tree recovery, and separate scrap types for value efficiency. He must also maintain the tapping block in clean, weed-free condition, manage his own time with minimal supervision, guide junior tappers, and plan personal financial growth including asset-building and retirement preparation. Such a role clearly demands a personnel specification, job description, and structured skill grading. It is irrational and unjust to treat such an individual as “unskilled” simply because tradition dictates so. The example of the rubber tapper shows that professionalising daily-paid roles is not only possible but urgently necessary. Another challenge is the structural difference between large Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) and small Proprietary Planters (PPs). RPCs manage 20,000 to 30,000 acres, operate with corporate governance systems, access capital markets, utilise research support, and fall under government oversight due to golden-share arrangements. Their scale allows them to absorb wage increases by spreading costs across millions of kilograms of annual production. PPs, however, manage between 10 and 50 acres, often rely on family labour, carry all financial risk personally, and lack economies of scale. Expecting a 10 to 50-acre proprietary planter (PP)  to absorb the same wage structure as a 25,000-acre corporation is neither logical nor economically feasible. This is why scale-sensitive wage models—rooted in investment appraisal, productivity, and income generation capacity—are essential. A one-size-fits-all wage approach is both unfair and destabilising.

If Sri Lanka wants to rebuild the competitiveness of its plantation sector, it must urgently rehumanise and professionalise its workforce. Every role must have a personnel specification, from plucker to tapper to harvester. Every task must have a clear job description, measurable productivity benchmarks, and structured training pathways. Workers must be treated not as cost units but as skilled participants in a high-value agricultural economy. Mechanisation must be introduced not to replace labour but to protect workers and improve output. Wages must be tied to productivity and land performance so that both workers and employers prosper together.

At this crucial moment, the attention and leadership of Prof. Anil Jayantha Fernando, Minister of Labour, are vital. The plantation labour system needs a modern HRM framework—one that ensures humane treatment, respects skill, drives productivity, and creates a fair and sustainable wage structure. With the Minister’s guidance, Sri Lanka can finally lift the plantation workforce to the level of professionalism, dignity, and opportunity it truly deserves.

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