In workplaces, workers’ rights are very strong. Mostly, struggles have to be waged to win those rights. There’s no argument that the TUs have that responsibility. They have the dual responsibility of safeguarding the workers as well as the workplace. They struggle at all times over various matters. There are victories and defeats. This is about a TU struggle that has become a cold war – at the People’s Bank (PB). Its main TU is the Lanka Bank Employees Union (LBEU). A group led by Ranjan Senanayake, the LBEU secretary and president of its branch at the PB, is warning about a threat faced by the PB, that it is going to be privatized. The Bank of Ceylon (BoC) too, gets involved.
According to what the TU leaders say, as part of the PB’s privatization, the government is making arrangements to sell 10 per cent of its assets in the stock market. To find provisions for that, the government is attempting to amend the People’s Bank Act no. 29 of 1961. The LBEU is raising awareness against it by way of handbill distributions, display of posters etc. Investigating further, more revelations were made. A question arose if the LBEU and its PB branch really want to protect state banks, or to get their personal agendas fulfilled.
The TU struggle there has become a cold war as it is not a struggle to win workers’ rights, but a fight to exact revenge from the top figures. Therefore, hereafter, it will be a fight, not a struggle.
The LBEU has a history of more than 75 years. It has the membership of eight state banks and 12 private banks, with a responsibility for a total of 35,000 bank employees. Its strongest members are the PB, BoC and the NSB. Today, these banks are opposed by the bankers themselves. The LBEU secretary and his group are accusing the PB management of repressing the TU members and punishing them over various charges. It is true that they have lost some of their privileges.
Taking a look at its history – the LBEU held its election of office-bearers on July 14 that saw its PB assistant general manager A.K. Bandara, branch president and LBEU secretary losing, and paving the way for Senanayake, a PB manager. Trouble started from then on, with the employees gradually losing their privileges that are not ruled by law, but depend on institutional amity and progress. Therefore, the management can grant or deny privileges. But, when that decision is taken in a hateful manner, it becomes a question. But, it could be that the PB employees have asked for it. That is what has happened.
The conduct of the trade unionists that affect the bank’s good name is the reason for that. They are displaying posters to inconvenience the PB, distributing leaflets in main towns to spread falsehoods, holding protests in front of their head office together with unionists from other banks, including the BoC, NSB and HDFC, accusing the PB of misusing public money despite the absence of supporting evidence and spreading falsehoods the bank is to be privatized. That made the bank management suspend all privileges to the employees. The paid-release of eight employees for trade union work has been curtailed to two employees. Transfer and appeal boards were abolished in August. All these happened due to the conduct of a handful.
Another serious matter is the accusation that state banks are to be privatized and that the act is to be amended to pave the way. The need to amend the act is to raise the bank’s nominal assets from the present Rs. one billion to Rs. 50 billion to comply with Sri Lanka Central Bank and international banking regulations and to avoid the need to obtain treasury bonds when issuing debentures. The state fully owns the PB. If that is to be changed, clause 13 of the act has to be changed. But, there are no reports of such plans. The bank is listed in the share market in order to raise its capital.
The secretary of the LBEU also alleges management trainees are being recruited on political grounds. The management rejects it and says 200 out of the 600 who have passed the examination will be recruited in the order of their marks. It challenges the union leaders to show any recruitment outside that procedure. The unionists are also opposing a digitalization of the bank, alleging a misuse of money. Initially, Rs. 700 million was allotted, but only Rs. 490 m was spent. A parliamentary committee inquired into the opposition from within the bank and after establishing that it would cause no harm, gave permission to proceed with the digitalization.
However, the cold war by the unionists is not over, as they are having, not professional issues, but enmity with the management which has now denied the employees their privileges. Attempts to gain personal agendas cause trouble for all. That is what has happened to PB employees. The situation is such that other employees have to act as the go-betweens to secure a discussion for the unionists with the management.
Ashika Brahmana
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