NPP in bonus muddle:

By Shamindra Ferdinando

SJB trade union wing spokesman Ananda Palitha yesterday (30) alleged that the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) had paid over Rs 4 bn as year-end bonus in contravention of a Finance Ministry circular dated 23 Dec., 2024.

Palitha said that though the Finance Secretary, Mahinda Siriwardena, had restricted the payment of bonuses to two categories of public sector workers to Rs. 25,000 and Rs 20,000, the CPC had paid well over the stipulated amount.

Responding to The Island queries, Palitha said CPC Chairman D J A S De S Rajakaruna, who is also the head of Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Limited, had been given a free hand in deciding bonus payment, although the government had not reduced the price of regular petrol significantly. Since the change of government in Sept. 2024, the price of litre of Octane 92 had been reduced by just Rs. 2, Palitha said.

Asked whether the SJB opposed bonuses to state sector workers, Palitha said, “We are not opposed to bonuses to state sector workers. But the issue here is the payment of bonuses against the backdrop of both fuel and electricity consumers deprived of relief. The NPP owes the public an explanation.”

The Finance Ministry has issued the relevant circular on the instructions of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who is also the Minister of Finance. In terms of the circular, state enterprises that have not earned profits in 2023 and those that have not paid at least 30 % of profits as taxes to the Consolidated Fund are not eligible for bonus.

Palitha claimed that nearly 4,200 CPC workers had been paid an additional one month’s salary, plus Rs 5,200 cost of living allowance as their year-end bonus. The lowest category of workers received an all-inclusive monthly take home pay of approximately Rs 120,000 whereas top management personnel were paid as much as Rs 800,000.

Palitha pointed out that in the absence of a collective agreement pertaining to the CPC, that enterprise should have obtained Cabinet approval for bonus payment. Instead, the CPC had ignored the Finance Ministry circular in question, as well as the requirement for Cabinet approval, he said, adding that the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) unions were upset over preferential treatment given to their CPC counterparts. Palitha said that he stood by recent declaration that CPC Chairman Rajakaruna increased his salary and allowances by double the amount he is entitled to.

Palitha reiterated his previous claims against the CPC Chairman. The Island contacted Energy Minister Dr. Kumara Jayakody for comment, but he asked us to get in touch with CPC Chairman Rajakaruna who didn’t answer his mobile phone