CPC oil refinery operates at 50% capacity, but employees continue to be paid OT

By Chaminda Silva

The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) claims it is incurring huge losses, but ot pays as much as Rs. 7 million a day as overtime payments to its employees, according to sources.

The CPC has 4,800 workers and about 3,000 of them collect overtime pay. No official has been assigned to supervise the overtime payments, according to sources.

The CPC workers received a 50% salary hike in 2018 and another 25% hike in 2021.

The overtime payments too increased in keeping with the salary increases. There had been attempts to reduce overtime payment during the tenure of Ministers Arjuna Ranatunga and Kabir Hashim, sources said.

Although the operations at the oil refinery have dropped to 50% of the capacity of the facility, there had been no decrease in the amount paid as overtime pay, sources said.

Energy Minister Gamini Lokuge was not immediately available for comment.