President defers Pension Bill, agrees to more consultations

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Monday agreed to defer the controversial Pension Bill and consented to a request from trade unions, workers and employers for more consultations on the proposed scheme for private sector workers.

He gave this assurance at a meeting at his official residence, Temple Trees, with selected trade unions and the Employers' Federation of Ceylon (EFC), representing employers.

The Pension Bill is due to be debated in Parliament on Wednesday, April 27 while a fundamental rights petition challenging the bill is also due to be taken up in the Supreme Court this week.

The Ceylon Bank Employees' Union (CBEU), which filed the petition and the UNP-affiliated Jathika Sevaka Sangamaya were invited along with pro-government unions. But many other unions that objected to the bill were not invited for the meeting.

EFC Director General Ravi Peiris, in a press release after  the meeting, said speaking on behalf of the EFC he told the President that they were not opposed to a pension scheme for workers but pointed out that there are many issues which are quite complex that need to be discussed through consultation.
“We emphasized that there has not been proper consultation process prior to the introduction of the Bill with the relevant stakeholders such as the trade unions and the employers,” he said.

Mr Peiris said the President had “immediately agreed to our request and instructed the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Finance to arrange a meeting along with the stakeholders to discuss and clarify the issues pertaining to the Bill.”
The United Federation of Labour is holding a meeting tomorrow with other unions followed by a picket to protest over the proposed new laws. However in the light of the President’s consent for more consultations, it was immediately unclear whether the unions will go ahead with the protest.

Opposition to the bill has been mainly over its mandatory provisions, serving a continuous 10-year service period to quality for a pension and spouses not being entitled to the pension. – Ends -

 

Source: http://www.sundaytimes.lk/index.php/latest/6778-president-defers-pension-bill-agrees-to-more-consultations

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