SOS call from trade union to Labour Chief over Pelwatte Sugar takeover

The Inter Company Employees’ Union (ICEU) affiliated to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has written to the Labour Commissioner about the risk of employees at the Pelwatte Sugar Company losing their jobs and requested an urgent meeting to discuss several key issues.

ICEU Head Wasantha Samarasinghe has stated in the letter that the Pelwatte Sugar Company is facing a crisis after the Government acquired it under the Expropriation Act enacted last year. He has added that the company was meeting its targets and recording a profit until it was acquired by the Government last year.

The Pelwatte Sugar Company does not produce sugar anymore, he has said.

Samarasinghe has said some of the key issues faced by the employees are the failure to pay EPF and ETF for the employees since the Government acquired the company, employees being informed that the officials cannot be responsible for the payment of overtime to the employees and the delay in commencing the production work scheduled for 2012.