Govt. takes vengeance on private sector over pension bill – JVP

By Chamitha Kuruppu

The JVP yesterday described the Government’s move of not increasing the salaries of over seven million private sector workers as “taking vengeance” on them for going against its private pension bill.

The party states that the government’s failure to grant a salary increment for the private sector is clear evidence that they have taken revenge from the workers for not allowing the government to go ahead with its controversial private pension scheme.

“During the budget it was the usual practice to request private sector owners to increase salaries of their workers. Why didn’t the government make such request? Why did they omit private sector workers from this year’s budget?  It is clear that this government has taken revenge from over seven million private sector workers for the agitation campaign they carried out during the proposed pension bill. This is why the government has not increased salaries of the private sector workers,” JVP parliamentarian Vijitha Herath told a media briefing yesterday. 

Emphasising that the budget lacks basic fundamentals of economics, Herath stressed that it clearly demonstrates this government’s ignorance about macroeconomic policies. He vouched to vote against this budget and conduct protest rallies throughout the country. “We urge this government to increase salaries of state sector workers by Rs. 10,000 and also demand a 40 per cent pay hike for private sector,”

“President Rajapaksa lied to the people promising a 10 per cent salary increment. What is offered from this budget is an allowance. It is sad to say that this government has once again fooled the workers in this country,” he noted.

According to him during last year’s budget this government assured to grant an allowance of 100,000 rupees for the third child birth in the families of war heroes. The money allocated for this purpose was Rs. 1200 million. “Government has so far failed to offer a single cent. But this bankrupt government has the audacity to make a similar proposal this year too claiming to offer  a cash grant of Rs. 100,000 to police officers who parented a third child.” 

He further pointed out that although there are over 40,000 unemployed undergraduates in Sri Lanka this year’s budget has failed to offer any solutions to ease the situation. “2011 budget promised to provide 15,000 job opportunities to unemployed undergraduates. This year the matter was not even mentioned in the budget,” he added.

Addressing the media parliamentarian Sunil Handeunneththi said, “The depreciation of the rupee will have many negative impacts on our already ailing economy. Our key exports tea and rubber already battle a crisis situation in the international market. Currency depreciation will worsen the situation.”

He also pointed out that the government has spent a large amount of money on the ‘Divi Neguma’ project. But the statistics released on the outcome of this much talked project is contradicting.

During the budget speech President Rajapakse stated that due to the success of the Divi Neguma project there is a 50 per cent decrease in the prices of essential food and therefore the government has been able to maintain three per cent food inflation.

However the statistics released by the government says that the food inflation in September was over 10 per cent. Why is this government citing two different figures?

Meanwhile commenting about the chaos situation that took place during the budget Handunneththi pointed out, “The opposition has the democratic right to protest. During the budget speech the President assured that people in this country has the right to protest. But when government parliamentarians assaulted the opposition members all he did was watch them act like hooligans. This double standard of President speaks volumes about this government’s double standard on democracy.”