Opposition TU’s want EPF investments on CSE halted

by Zacki Jabbar

Opposition affiliated trade unions yesterday resolved to write to President Mahinda Rajapaksa requesting him to ensure that Employees Provident Fund (EPF) monies were not squandered by the risky investments that had been made on the Colombo Stock Exchange.

Representatives of the Unions, who met at the New Town Hall, were of the view that the EPF should channel its funds into government guaranteed securities since its recent Stock Market foray had resulted in huge losses.

They also called for the appointment of a Parliamentary Select Committee to investigate the EPF investments in the CSE, which they said not only lacked sound reasoning but was also politically motivated with a view to giving a seeming boost to the economy.

A third resolution that was adopted requested the Rajapaksa regime to ensure that farmers were paid their meager monthly pension of Rs.1,500, which they had not received for the last four months.

It was decided that if the government turned a deaf ear to their concerns, public protests be launched to ensure that the workers’ rights were protected.

Leaders of unions representing the Free Trade Zone employees, Health sector workers and those affiliated to the NSSP, USA and UNP participated in yesterday’s meeting.

The UNP leaders who were present included Joseph Michael Perera, Tissa Attanayake, Jayalath Jayawardena, Mangala Samaraweera and Harsha de Silva.

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