Unions back SLT-NTT deal, Sripathi goes to court

The dispute over the sale of part of Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) to a Malaysian company came to courts this week even as the Government got backing from a SLT union to go ahead with the deal. Former Minister Sripathi Sooriyarachchi, once a close Government ally, challenged the proposed sale of NTT-SLT shares to a connected company of Maxis on a fundamental rights issue.

Mr. Sooriyarachchi asked the Supreme Court to bar the sale of 25.3% shares held by NTT to Global Telecommunication Holding NV of the Netherlands, controlled by Ananda Krishnan, the billionaire Malaysian businessman of Sri Lankan origin who in turn virtually owns Maxis, Malaysia’s biggest mobile phone company. The former minister says the first option to buy these shares should be given to the Sri Lankan Government. He has also asked that the deal be probed by the Bribery Commission and the Police following allegations of a $10 million commission to an influential Government source.

However amidst the furore over the controversial sale which led to a debate in Parliament on Friday, a SLT union backed the Government over the transaction even saying selling it to ‘Prabhakaran or his mother is better that the current NTT-controlled management which is worse than terrorists.’

Telecommunications Officers Union president Rohan Nishanka met the media earlier this week saying his union was supporting the deal and later confirmed that statement in a telephone interview with The Sunday Times.

He also said there was no problem with the reported $10 million commission saying that a commission is part and parcel of any international deal and ‘anyway that money is also coming into the country’. The Sri Lanka Telecom Workers' Union was gearing up for a countrywide trade union action to urge the Government to regain 100 percent control of SLT fearing jobs would be lost in the latest deal.

SLT officials denied claims of job losses and issues about controversial deals. A senior official said some unions opposing the deal were working according to their own agendas and insisted that everything was being done in a transparent manner.

However despite claims of transparency, SLT chairman Asoka Weerasinghe de Silva declined to comment on the deal, a position he has taken since the crisis broke out. There was also no official information from the Government committee probing the deal. It has also asked for Defence Ministry clearance. Other sources connected to the committee and SLT officials said despite the controversy the deal is expected to be signed in the coming weeks.

Mr. Nishanka said the new agreement was more advantageous to the Sri Lankan Government than the previous one signed between the Government and the NTT. He said, however, the management had failed to implement a proper promotional scheme and to pay a reasonable salary for telecom workers including non-executive grade staff. He said only executives are getting high salaries ranging from Rs 65,000 to Rs 1.65 million with other perks including a company car.

He said some workers who were recruited as telecommunication inspectors ten years ago were still serving in the same post.