Opposition unions accuse Prez of being two-faced

By Rathindra Kuruwita

Most of the industrial unrest in the country could have been averted if the government had allowed independent commissions to function properly, Convenor of the Samagi Joint Trade Union Alliance, Ananda Palitha said.

“Look at what the Wickremesinghe government did with regard to the current issues in the electricity sector. It undermined the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and prevented the PUC from performing its regulatory responsibilities. The President influenced some commissioners and now there is chaos at the Commission,” he said.

Palitha mentioned that a few months ago the Human Rights Commission (HRC) attempted to provide electricity, without interruption, during the duration of the Advanced Level examination.

“The CEB and the CPC initially agreed and then went back on their word. There is some political influence here,” he said.

Palitha said the government is taking a number of anti-democratic and anti-people initiatives while claiming that these are IMF recommendations.

“It takes about three rupees to generate a unit of electricity through hydro power. Some plants like Wimalasurendra produce a unit at around 25 cents. Traditionally, we believe that the benefit of this low-cost electricity should go to the poor. The PUCSL is in charge of determining what the rate should be. Before becoming the President, Ranil was the biggest proponent of empowering independent commissions. I think most people believed that he would at least strengthen the rule of law. However, during his presidency, these commissions have been undermined like never before,” he said.

The union leader said that a number of government affiliated individuals are shedding crocodile tears about schoolchildren losing one school day due to the trade union action on March 15. However, they were silent when the CEB and CPC undermined efforts to provide uninterrupted power supply during the GCE A/L examination period.

“The CPC has more than enough naphtha but it didn’t deliver it to the CEB. Naphtha is much cheaper than generating electricity using other fossil fuels,” he said.