News
FUTA asks govt. to stop undermining labour rights, exploiting retirement funds
The Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) on Saturday called on the government to ensure that any far-reaching changes in education policy should only be initiated after obtaining a clear mandate from the people of the country.
A FUTA statement signed by its General Secretary Athulasiri Samarakoon said: The Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) strongly condemns the recent actions of the Government; measures to undermine labour rights, cuts to retirement funds and privatization.
The Government is flagrantly insensitive to the pain and suffering of the working people as it takes forward policies that further dispossess them. We condemn the relentless attack on the hard-won democratic rights, undertaken with little consultation of the public and sustained through a systematic and ever-expanding strategy of silencing the citizenry.
The Government has passed a domestic debt restructuring plan in Parliament that directly undermines the retirement funds of working people, who are being asked to absorb the burden of debt that successive governments have wantonly accrued. Left out of such an onslaught are wealthy individuals and financial institutions, whose Treasury Bonds investment will remain untouched.
In contrast, every family who had expected some security from their Employees Provident Fund, Employees Trust Fund and other retirement funds to ensure survival when they can no longer work, have to now grapple with the reality of a bleak future. In addition to over 40 percent loss of the value of their retirement funds last year due to a hugely depreciated rupee and high inflation, and the tremendous rise in cost of living affecting their daily lives, now they will lose close to 50 percent of the future value of their retirement funds over the next 16 years.
The proposed labour law that is being rushed by the government, in the guise of protecting women, makes women’s work even more precarious by introducing provisions that will help employers circumvent maternity benefits and permit “flexible” work that places fewer obligations on employers to ensure the protection of women workers who must work at night.
More broadly, the proposed laws repeal laws that protect workers, facilitating arbitrary terminations, allows ad hoc changes to the compensation payable to them and makes it difficult for workers to join trade unions and take trade union action. In short, the proposed law attacks trade unions, weakens the statutory obligations of employers towards workers and will lead to greater job insecurity and exploitation of workers.
The proposals announced last week by the Parliamentary Select Committee, tasked with expanding higher education opportunities, does nothing to address the crisis that have left Universities struggling to survive, due to drastic funding cuts, bloated intakes prompted by government pressure, and the rampant brain drain; the latter, in particular, caused by the very policies being implemented by this government.
Instead, it chooses to make sweeping changes to higher education that will not only weaken public education, but also increase the public cost of education by subsidising private higher education. We note that embedded in this document is an attack on university teachers, and further note that government has a history of using such attacks to silence those who may resist their “reforms”. These moves to privatise higher education are paralleled by initiatives to privatise many other public services, which are undermining the social contract between the state and the citizens that had been built over the decades since Independence.
These sweeping changes if implemented will affect us, our students, and the public for generations. Yet, little has been done to genuinely consult the people, especially those made most vulnerable because of these changes. Instead, the public is faced with heightened mobilization of security forces, threats of draconian draft laws that criminalise democratic action and deliberate misinterpretation of laws to prevent any form of protest. We are gravely concerned with the path in which the country is headed; one in which democracy, civic engagement, and basic economic and political rights are ignored as being irrelevant and inconsequential.
FUTA has always considered its role as one of working with other movements to safeguard and buttress our democratic system. FUTA demands that the Government ensure that any far-reaching changes in policy are initiated after obtaining a clear mandate from the people of the country.
The Parliamentary watchdog Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) has found that there were fake documents regarding the importing of medicines under the emergency procurement system in 2022 and 2023.
This was revealed during a COPE meeting held at Parliament probing the transactions of the National Medicine Regulatory Authority (NMRA).
NMRA CEO Saveen Semage told the committee that several fake documents have been found due to the lack of registration of medicines.
Stating that six such fake documents were found last year alone, Semage said he had recorded statements regarding each of the documents with the Financial Crimes Investigation Division.
He revealed that, however, no investigations have been conducted yet into the incidents.
“We have documents with confessions from a woman accepting that fake documents had been made. However, a statement has not even been recorded from that woman yet,” he said.
Meanwhile, COPE member MP Asitha Niroshana Egoda Vithana also revealed that the highest number of waive-off registrations (WOR) for medicines had been obtained in 2022 and 2023.
He said 656 such WORs had been obtained in 2022 and 261 in 2023, adding that this proves that discrepancies have taken place during the emergency procurement of medicines during these periods.
Furthermore, Deputy Director General of the Medical Supplies Division of the Health Ministry, Dr. G. Wijesuriya said discussions are underway on allowing the State Pharmaceutical Corporation (SPC) to directly import essential medicines.He pointed out that it was essential to take a policy decision in this regard as a solution to mitigate such discrepancies.
The Batalanda Commission report was tabled in Parliament on Friday by the Leader of the House and Transport Minister, Bimal Ratnayake.
Minister Ratnayake announced that the government has decided to forward the report to the Attorney General for legal advice. Additionally, a Presidential Committee will be appointed to provide guidance and recommendations on how to proceed with the findings of the report.
Ratnayake said that the Cabinet of Ministers, along with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has made a policy decision to take necessary action in response to the report. He reassured the public that steps are being taken to ensure that such a dark chapter in the country’s history is never repeated.
Minister Ratnayake said that a two-day debate on the Batalanda Commission report will be scheduled in Parliament at an appropriate time, allowing for a detailed discussion on the report’s findings and recommendations.
The report, which will be printed in all three official languages—Sinhala, Tamil, and English—will be made available to the public in the near future. Ratnayake confirmed that printed copies would be provided to members of Parliament as well as the general public for their review.
The Leader of the House further revealed that there are 28 evidence volumes associated with the commission’s work, which will be submitted to Parliament at a later date for further scrutiny.
Ratnayake said that as entire country concerned of the Batalanda Commission’s findings, the government’s commitment to addressing the issues raised and preventing future atrocities stands clear. The next steps, including legal action and policy recommendations, will be shaped by expert advice and informed parliamentary discussions, he said.
Governor of the Central Bank Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe on Friday (14) emphasized the importance of promoting a sustainable and cost-effective construction industry in the country, highlighting key challenges and opportunities in the sector.
Speaking at ‘Construction Expo 2025’, Dr. Weerasinghe underscored the need for Sri Lanka to align with global trends in sustainable construction, integrating cost-effective energy solutions and eco-friendly building practices.
“I must say my views here are not necessarily as Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, but as a person looking at this construction industry and how this can be developed and what the issues are. Sustainability in construction is essential, not just for new projects but also for existing buildings,” he noted.
Dr. Weerasinghe acknowledged that the construction sector has been one of the hardest-hit industries due to multiple economic pressures in recent years including the decline in public investments, high material costs and the industry being dependent on government projects.
The CBSL Governor, who acknowledged that the government faced fiscal constraints, limiting infrastructure spending and delaying payments to contractors, said that however, the outstanding arrears had now been settled.
“Government did not have space to spend money for public investment, especially construction that had a significant impact on the industry in the last couple of years, plus the government inability to pay the arrears for a long period. That was an issue we all recognize that has been one of the adverse impacts the industry had in the past”, he expressed.
“Also the cost of materials went up significantly, partly because of foreign exchange shortages. As a result, the shortage had shot up the prices of construction materials, as well as depreciation of the currency, high interest rates, finance costs, and other factors. We all recognize that it had an adverse impact on the industry. It’s one of the worst affected industries because of all these factors.”
Showers above 75 mm can be expected at some places in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, Southern and North-western provinces.
COPE discovers fake documents covering drug imports in 2022/23
Batalanda report tabled in parliament, forwarded to AG
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