Thirty five Ground Staff and seventeen Flight Attendants among other employees of SriLanka Airlines are to be terminated by the national carrier, on a treasury directive based on the findings of an investigation carried out into the irregular recruitment practices during the previous Rajapaksa regime, Colombo Telegraph reliably learns.
Chairman Ajit Dias
All trade / labour unions representing the employees of SriLankan Airlines were summoned for a meeting by the Chairman Ajit Dias last morning.
However the Flight Attendants Union (FAU) was not represented despite having seventeen of its cadre said to be terminated.
When Colombo Telegraph contacted the FAU Secretary Lanka Kamalgoda for a comment he said ” we have no knowledge of any such meeting as we were not informed. Please direct any questions to the Management of the airline”.
However reliable sources from within the Human Resources Department of the airline confirmed that the relevant emails had been sent to all unions. This was further clarified by the I.T Department stating that the relevant emails were both sent and received by all unions.
“Perhaps these are now the first casualties of the findings of the long overdue Weliamuna report ” said an airline employee who furnished evidence to the investigations on condition of anonymity.
K.A Sumanasekera / January 22, 2016
Ground staff are not Elite jobs.
Although some chicks at BIA think so..
There are a few Dalits now in the once exclusively Elite Flight Attendant class, thanks to the Ragapaksa Regime although these are just Waitress in the Air jobs..
Most probably these 35 plus 17 are the Dalits .
But my gripe is, the same treasurer appointed 180 Directors to our semi Public Institutions,
His boss Batalanda Ranil wants to sack the lot ,
He called them to the TT for a meeting. Only only 50 turned up and one agreed to take the package…
The rest must have said get stuffed, in Elite jargon. of course..
That is Yahapalanaya for you.
/
Apey le / January 22, 2016
The fact that u have taken it upon yourself to disrespect an individual’s socially accepted earning method is an appalling matter and epitomizers your standing and elite-ness in society to be wanting. However the eventual gripe is substantiated and warranted.
The fact that the recruiters (who wined and dined at that time) should be punished and not the innocent souls who are trying to make a respectable earning is the calling of the hour. We believe those culprits are still at large enjoying every bit of the good stuff in the airline, even right now.
/
Leel / January 22, 2016
Should not allow to run this institution with POORMAN’S PARIPPU tax. Sell it in full to somebody, if nobody to buy it then closedown the bullshit.
/
Douglas / January 22, 2016
As CT reported, if the information is “reliable”, the question to be asked from the “Authorities” who terminate the services of these “Back Door” employees is: WHO did and WHY such “Back Door” recruitment were done? For sure the said “Investigations” would have revealed all such details and “WHAT” action will be or is being taken against such people involved in that exercise. After all we must admit the “SYSTEM” that was available then and even now to a certain extent is to get your name into a “Politicos’ List” and secure some employment. But it is left to the “Authorities” in those institutions to make assessment of the people and as well as the requirements in the cadre and take appropriate steps to fill such vacancies. If that was not followed, WHY only the “innocent” people are taken off and let off the hook those who did the biggest mistake of wrongful recruitment? I hope the present Chairman and the others in control of the affairs of Sri Lankan Airline will move very swiftly in that direction too and deal very strictly with those who “circumvented” the normal procedures of recruitment to accommodate the wishes of the the “Big Wigs”. What are Trade Unions who attended that “Meeting” said and did? Did they at all consider this aspect and DEMANDED punishing the “BIG” who did the initial mistake and put these “innocent” souls in trouble by giving “unsecured” employment?
/
justice / January 22, 2016
Sacking a few employees will not reverse the daily loss of revenue, as the airline is overloaded by hundreds more, in Sri Lanka and abroad.
This ‘sacred cow’ of an airline is one of many daily loosing state enterprises and needs pruning drastically, but most of the redundant employees are political appointees and are “permanent”.
With all this, there is talk of ‘re-fleeting’ – at terrific cost, making the country indebted for many more years.
The President and Prime Minister appear helpless to rectify, and the airline goes on merrily loosing the peoples’ wealth.
We are a uniquely corrupt inept nation unable to correct ourselves.
/
Nish / January 22, 2016
Insiders know that there are more than the numbers mentioned who joined through the back door. Perhaps the rest are Yahapalanaya favorites?
/
Bioun Perera / January 22, 2016
Well, this is my comment for the comment by mr.sumanasekara, u r soo badly mistaken, i don’t know whethr you hv flown at least once!if so, U better know my friend u could hv not got even that chance to get air lifted if flight attendats were not there!nd if not, u will nvr get d chance!! Because just a couple of pilots cant airlift an aircraft without flight attendants!! Soo better nt to talk abt things which u dnt knw!! Dat shows dat u r undereducated though ur talking abt “elite jobs”and if u dnt dnt knw better not to talk abt it, brcause at least people will not knw dat u r uneducated, and learn to respect othr jobs!!
/
Eshantha / January 22, 2016
Written in texting English- u soooo sound like a genuine cabin crew, barely GCE qualified lol ur spelling (and da attitude) givs all othrs in da airline a bad name….
Mr Perera, we have friends in the airline, who are senior flight attendants who know their place and true value to the airline and the customer. We have no beef with them but someone who is a opinionated ignoramus who can barely spell ought to be told to respect a dissenting view even if it comes from someone like Mr Sumanasekera
/
Apey le / January 23, 2016
My dear Eshantha……..It is sad that you have taken it upon yourself to castigate one’s knowledge of another language and be the self appointed critical spokesperson for this forum. FYI we have heard it through the grapevine that most of the cabin crew at Sri Lankan airlines are qualified and consists of many national degree/MBA holders etc…and their preference to indulge in the occupation is personal to them and not to you or any other.
The text message (as you say here) is merely an expression of one’s feeling and might not be the knowledge base of the sender. And one does not necessarily have to know another language eloquently to survive in the world but the knowledge to express ( Please take our present great leader as an example). And I feel this person who has written this text has done it impeccably, due to the fact he/she has managed to stir your lesser educated mental status in order to warrant a reply.
Kudos to the self appointed adolescent critics…..like you…we can have a laugh
/
Bioun Perera / March 6, 2016
May be you don’t know that the texting language is accepted all around the world other than when it comes to a formal matter!! That says that you are not abreast with the world, better find some spare time to be that person!!
/
Bioun Perera / March 6, 2016
And better know, majority of the cabin crew is qualified and educated far more than GCE levels which should be the highest educational level that you have achieved!!By the way i wonder weather that frienship with senior cabin crew, as you have said, has mistakenly built up!!Because, i don’t think they will not even start a conversation with a person like you who might have got educated but without a wink ofwisdom!!
/
thrishu / January 23, 2016
Well said BP. This fellow Suman-Asekara thinks he is the bees knees and an expert of everything. Obviously he has no job at all, as his full time employment appears to be monitoring the CT columns and putting blogs without missing any one of them. I wonder if he considers it as an elite job….
/
K.A Sumanasekera / January 24, 2016
You got it all wrong..mate…
It is in between earning a quid and playing Golf.
Of course I read CT and Colombo T too..
What is better than keeping abreast of the cutting edge Politics of the Yahapalana suckers and their Masters, while enjoying a Single Malt..
/
Chandra / January 22, 2016
Back in the early 1960s when Pieter Keanuaman was the Minister of Housing in the newly elected government a plea was made by a delegation to remove the employees who came through the back door during the previous UNP government. The Minister rejected the plea outright saying that it is not his policy to remove those already in employment. Such we were told by members of that delegation. That was yahapalanaya.
/
Bagehot / January 22, 2016
Nonsense. It was his fear of rabble rousing, trade unions, and of losing the popular vote disguised as benevolence that made him say this. Employees not hired on any merit based platform should be terminated regardless who is/was in power. Whitewashing this by invoking tripe uttered by bankrupt leftists 50 years ago in a different era is just not going to cut it.
/
Eshantha / January 22, 2016
While they cannot comment on a treasury directive that will be coming, the rest is a false story according to managers who I contacted this morning. There was no such meeting. Chairman Dias did call a meeting of the shareholders earlier this week, that was on an unrelated issue.
/
Kugan / January 22, 2016
Its not the employees fault they desparate to get the job.but what about the back door men he is the curlpit still inside with comfort how do they get pass all the procedures.
You as chairman get rid of the black sheep Then the rest will follow be an example.go forward change the nasty old habbit for the new genaration
/
Eshantha / January 22, 2016
people who came in through political patronage deprived other qualified people of their fair opportunity. While political patronage will be difficult to establish, it is not difficult to identify those who did meet the qualification and other criteria necessary for those jobs and remove them. The qualifications/ criteria is always in the public domain in their website and their recruitment advertisements. So if someone who doesn’t meet the criteria got into the airline then that person knowingly was a part of the wrong doing- desperate or otherwise. So removing those who did not meet entry criteria painful as that is, need to be done. As old Marxists used to say “you cant make an omlette without breaking an egg”
/
Eshantha / January 22, 2016
Corrected….people who came in through political patronage deprived other qualified people of their fair opportunity. While political patronage will be difficult to establish, it is not difficult to identify those who did not meet the qualification and other criteria necessary for those jobs and remove them. The qualifications/ criteria is always in the public domain in their website and their recruitment advertisements. So if someone who doesn’t meet the criteria got into the airline then that person knowingly was a part of the wrong doing- desperate or otherwise. So removing those who did not meet entry criteria painful as that is, need to be done. As old Marxists used to say “you cant make an omlette without breaking an egg”
/
Matarage / January 22, 2016
when in Sri lanka half the cabinet ministers including president Gamaralage Pala are only SSC/GCE qualified, on what basis ,this so called yahapalana govt, come to conclusion that 35 recruits by previous regime is not qualified.
While in Sri Lanka, some consider flight attendant, ground staff jobs are elite jobs ,these are jobs like ,tradesman job (carpenters, masons) who can be trained within say 3 months,no special and outstanding skills like for professionls like doctors,lawyers or engineers are required. the very fact that they have been on the job for more than one year now ,these 35 people would certainly have acquired necessary skills to perform the jobs well.
trying to sack them now is, certianly political vitimisation and only poor sons and daughters are affected .I am sure they are not from so called elite schools Royal or Trinity or ladies or Bishop college.these 35 may be village lads and lasses who may not have gone to elocution classes.
these appointments can not be considered irregular as it has been done by the duly elected governments. if you go by that rule more than 75% present public and corporation employees have to be terminated.
how the hell then Mahendran ,not even a sri lankan citizen was appointed as governor of central Bank, violating basic law of the country and still being kept when there are serious allegation of financial frauds against him .
/
Bagehot / January 22, 2016
Matarage – are you saying that people with qualifications are more capable of running an organization/country than gamaralas/gamey baiyyas? If that’s the case, Rajapakse had a law qualification, while Sirisena has some sort of dubious qualification from Russia. Further, Sirisena’s brother has a whole raft of paper qualifications but by all accounts is running SLT into the ground. Maybe these things work in other countries, but not here in Sri Lanka.
If the governor of the Bank of England is not a UK citizen then I fail to see why it matters whether the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka needs to be. In addition, my friends at the Central Bank (who are all young and highly qualified) much prefer him to moda Cabraal the king’s accountant. However, that does not absolve him of the allegations you have raised. Yet, not a single civil society activist challenged the farcial ‘investigatory’ board that acquitted the man within two weeks. The problem, then, is among the public.
/
lex / January 23, 2016
Are you not controverting your own idiotic theories ?
/
Sylvia Haik / January 22, 2016
I have no doubt that corruption on a massive scale existed during the Rajapakse regime but these hapless employees are the most vulnerable and lowest link in the chain. Punishing them this way and letting the perpetrators go free is totally unfair. If it can be proven that these people got their jobs with corruption, they should be made to re-apply for their jobs instead.
/
Douglas / January 22, 2016
[Edited out]
/
vishvajith / January 22, 2016
During my time with Air Paradise, a regime in power parachuted a chap to International Relations. The bugger was good, no doubt, the way he was brought in was not so good. It didn’t meet the smell test.
An aggrieved party, took Air Paradise to Supreme Court and won. The SC directed the parachutist be terminated and fresh i’views be called for the position. Considering the fracas it created, the organization requested top notch civil servants to be included in the i’view board, Jayantha Dhanapala was one of them. Long story short, the aggrieved party, didn’t get the job. He certainly didn’t meet muster. The job went to an outsider.
Perhaps, if I may recommend, the folks asked to bugger off be allowed to reapply and come through the front door. I am sure, some of them will meet the cut.
/
Douglas / January 22, 2016
Eshantha: Having agreed on your comment:” Those who did not meet the criteria and qualifications must go”; I have a question for you. What do you suggest to do for those who gave those appointments to people who did not posses the qualifications and met the criteria? Shouldn’t THEY be the FIRST to deal with? Weren’t THEY the people in “Authority” who violated all norms of recruitment and have acted in the most IRRESPONSIBLE manner and in NEGLIGENCE of the official duties entrusted to them? How did they do that? Most probably the so called “investigations” would have revealed the reasons for such neglect of duties. Who knows, “Bribery”; “Favours” – (even in the form of “sexual”) “Compulsions” would have played a major role in making such wrong decisions. That is the BIGGER PICTURE anyone with the intention of eradicating this “cancer” from these Institutions must look at and initiate action; but not to put the cart before the horse. If the Chairman and the others in Authority are “GENUINELY” keen on CLEANING THE STABLE, they MUST get rid of the “SHARKS” who brought this Airline to a “National Burden” rather than FIRST go after the “FRIES”. Aren’t those the “FINDINGS” and the “RECOMMENDATIONS” of the Waliamuna Report? Why aren’t they interested in taking a CLOSER look at those FINDINGS of that Report and initiate action; but rather resort to this type of making decisions to clean from the “Bottom”? Do they have any “FEAR” to first clean the “TOP”? Or is this a “CHEAP PUBLIC STUNT” usually played by those in Authority?
Eshantha: Can you look at the above “Big Picture” and let me know your views? Thank you.
/
Eshantha / January 23, 2016
Douglas
I agree with all what you say, my comment here was a response to Kugan who said it is not the employees fault. I have to make one observation, politicians do not go after people offering them jobs when they are not qualified for the job (well unless they happen to be their kith and kin) Instead their supporters and others go behind politicians to get them to use influence in recruitment. Politicians in turn pressurise and intimidate the poor middle level executives and HR managers (well this is the case most of the time) So in this instance if you were to find who did it, the buck will stop at some poor HR executive, not anywhere near the big fish as you say.On paper the big fist remain untainted, for they only give verbal instructions or if given in writing they are ambiguous most of the time. I am sure you know the reality of working for a govt owned , govt controlled, govt managed organisation
/
Sunil / January 23, 2016
This refers to the above article pertaining to Srilankan back door entrants to exit, Then this should start from the Top not from these poor village boys and girls ,
In the Weliamuna report they had mentioned about one Bandula Weragama who parachuted to the Airlines HR devision through the influence of the Former presidents body guard S.M Fernando and he had failed the interview but was requruited even though there is also a cloud of suspicion on his qualifications. From HR he was removed and sent to inflight but within months he was once again removed due to his incompetence by this very chairmen who now is hell bent on sacking the poor children who had managed to gain employment to the security department as he is from the army.
Moreover now the Chairmen and his merry men in the board think it’s fit to Promote this very same incompetent Bandula Weragama as a General Manager to ground handling as he has failed miserably once again in the security department.
If the chairmen and his board thought it fit that this guy is so brilliant he should have been kept at inflight to ensure that this department is run smoothly.
But having said all of above if the chairmen is to remove these back door entrants on a treasury directive as stated then the FIRST to go should be this Bandula Weragama . The rot should be removed from the top as these are the guys who bleed the company.
/
upul / January 23, 2016
It took the Treasury almost 12 months to figure out that Sri Lankan airlines was over-staffed? Weliamuna report was a waste of money because there was absolutely no intention to correct the wrongs. Rather it was an attempt to blame the departed rulers for all their shenanigans.
Now, we can see who has been running UL for the last 14 months and what their achievements are. NONE!
Winning a Skytrak award for cabin service in the South Asia region is their biggest achievement! No talk about revenue increases, staff training, etc etc, that well managed airlines normally focus on.
/
anotherbuddist / January 23, 2016
No wonder Sri Lanka never develops to the full potential.It is this type of behaviour. Seeking revenge and not justice. I would not bother to explain the difference. You people are burning with hatred that you have become blind and stupid. What is the purpose of this? Not only are you attacking the bottom of the food chain / weakest link. It is personal. Without changing the practice and culture of corruption you will not change anything. The report on this news paper of President Sirisena’s son on official duties without any official position gets no response.That is corruption and nepotism- ‘unofficially’ as he has no official capacity!!! Whom are you fooling? For you guys Sirisena’s nepotism and Ranil’s corruption are OK.So you just hate the Rajapaskes and have bought the regime change ‘truth’ that is fend to you. Why bother? I should let you all swim in your own shit!
/
Jagath Fernando / January 23, 2016
Sri Lankan airlines has approx 100 staff per aircraft way above the industry norms. If they are to become profitable, at least 50%,may have to be sent home.
CTB has 9 staff per bus when compared to 2.25 in the private sector.
SLPA has 9,000 staff to handle 3 million containers whilst adjoining Chinese Terminal handles 1 million containers with 1,000 staff.
All our state sector institutions are over staffed due to pilotical influence.
Get rid of the politicians first responsible for these actions.
/
Apey le / January 23, 2016
My dear Eshantha……..It is sad that you have taken it upon yourself to castigate one’s knowledge of another language and be the self appointed critical spokesperson for this forum. FYI we have heard it through the grapevine that most of the cabin crew at Sri Lankan airlines are qualified and consists of many national degree/MBA holders etc…and their preference to indulge in the occupation is personal to them and not to you or any other.
The text message (as you say here) is merely an expression of one’s feeling and might not be the knowledge base of the sender. And one does not necessarily have to know another language eloquently to survive in the world but the knowledge to express (Please take our present great leader as an example). And I feel this person who has written this text has done it impeccably, due to the fact he/she has managed to stir your lesser educated mental status in order to warrant a reply.
Kudos to the self appointed adolescent critics, like you….we can have a laugh
/
Ex UL staff / January 23, 2016
Well this action of UL management appears to be a eyewash for the public.If they are really concerned of having the right people with proper qualifications to be employed.why not apply the same principle to those who were recruited by the new Yahapalana regime as well.
This should have been equally applied to recently recruited CEO as well as the Chief Commercial officer.The only common and critical factor in their recruitment seem to be their affiliation to Royal College.
A besieged Airline like SriLankan needs such positions be filled with people with proven track record of turning around troubled Business rather than those in the Industry who can only perform when the Establishment is on a sound footing
/
Spring Koha / January 23, 2016
Aney Aiyoo
I always fly the flag, and forgetting the OCCASIONAL bad experience, the service has been tip-top, and I always look forward to the next flight.
I hope that all this ‘karrachchal’ will not affect my forthcoming flight to Hong Kong and Beijing.
/
Jeremy Ludikins / January 24, 2016
I, for one moment will not condone the irregular acts committed during the Jarapassa regime nor the regime thereafter. We must all realize that the former regime was booted out an year ago because of this.
Weliamuna or any other investigation may have revealed that such and such a person was recruited irregularly. But what are the legal grounds to terminate the employment? If there isn’t, the employer must pay compensation. That adds to the bill of any loss making venture.
Now supposing if a Fundamental Rights Case is filed naming the Treasury Official in person who signed the directive to the Airlines would he not be in a real soup?
The clever way is to identify the irregularly recruited, subject them to deep scrutiny, have a good performance evaluation scheme. I am pretty sure they cannot stand it.
As far as the Airlines are concerned what matters is its viable operations. The big bosses of the yesteryear who even diverted flights to satisfy their whims must be made to pay for the losses. It is public knowledge that there were incidents involving sexual harassment by the big-wigs of the yester-year and I do not know how much the Weliamuna or any other report uncovered this. Those ladies who had to resign to safeguard there integrity must be compensated and the least penalty that the perpetrator must pay is the total sum of compensation, if not jail time.
This is just throwing some small sprats out and not catching the big fish.
The smart ones who were irregularly recruited would have switched allegiances by now. They would be mysteriously excluded from the process of elimination.
/
Kugan / January 24, 2016
You need qualufication depends on what the job you do. But in sl you need 3passes on A Level to make pizza.is it justifiable.but you get slightly less for medecine you are not allowed to do privatley….if its engineering or Accounting there are exemption
/
Nizam / January 24, 2016
Whatever said or done its now a bankrupt company which we were and even now have to pay for. It was
a profit making company and with authorities with prior importance took it to there hands.
Unless crooks and fools are punnished, we certainly have to pay for it. Mind you not the Mara, or M3 or RW. So think before you vote unless your making a DEAL.
/
DPJ / January 26, 2016
Srilankan is not the only institution to be filled with Rajapaksa loyalists. Look at the Central Bank. It is full of under qualified servitors of unscrupulous Rajapaksas. It is now a den of thieves.
/