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Talks on Tuesday to end Telecom manpower dispute
View(s):By Akash Widanapathirana
Talks to resolve the Sri Lanka Telecom ‘manpower’ labour dispute will be held Tuesday between Labour Minister W.D.J. Seneviratna and trade union leaders. Labour Commissioner General M.D.C. Amarathunga said Telecom officials and trade union leaders had met the minister twice and submitted recommendations.
She said the Ministry was negotiating with the two sides and would propose a solution acceptable to both. Meanwhile, All Ceylon Telecommunication Employees Union Secretary A.M.H.D. Perera denied media reports that a solution had been found to the dispute.
“There were a few rounds of talks with the minister and senior officials of SLT but we haven’t come to any agreement. We will continue our struggle started on December 26 until we get a just solution,” he said.
The union has been demanding that Telecom absorb the manpower workers into its permanent workforce. Some of them have worked for more than 17 years. But, Telecom says the workers were supplied by a manpower supplying company and they had absorbed them whenever vacancies arose.
The union leader disputed Telecommunications Minister Harin Fernando’s statement in parliament that the manpower workers were under-qualified. “We saw the minister saying in Parliament that Manpower workers lacked qualification. But we are more qualified than some permanent workers,” he said.
Mr. Perera claimed that Telecom officials had said that if the institute was overstaffed it would scuttle Telecom’s efforts to woo investment from a Malaysian firm. “Is the Government going to change its labour policies merely because it wants foreign investments?” he asked.
All Ceylon Telecommunication Employees Union Vice President Sujeewa Mangala said the manpower workers had no political agendas to topple the Government and all what they wanted was a fair solution.