UTV | COLOMBO – Chairman of the Inter Company Employees Union Wasantha Samarasinghe says trade unions did not consent to salary deduction of the private sector owing to the coronavirus.
Speaking at a media briefing Samarasinghe denied claims by the government that trade unions consented to a salary deduction or a basic salary payment of Rs.14,500 till September.
Samarasinghe said everyone, from large-scale profit-making factories to people in shops, have lost jobs, adding that lengthy discussions were held over the matter and proposals were tabled as trade unions.
He added a survey by a private firm stated that by the end of the year 1.2 million people will lose jobs in the country.
Samarasinghe said unions requested the government to grant concessions for at least five to six months so that salaries of employees can be paid, adding however that the government is instead formulating laws to deduct employee salaries.
He claimed the Inter Company Employees Union opposed the first proposal presented by the government, because it fills the pockets of the employer and not the employee.