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Petroleum unions hit out at President
View(s):Petroleum sector trade unions yesterday accused President Maithripala Sirisena of reneging on a promise that the signing of the Concession Agreement on the Hambantota Port would take place after Tuesday.
In a letter to the President, the Petroleum Joint Trade Union Alliance (PJTUA), which led this week’s petroleum strike to protest the deal, said the signing of the agreement before a meeting scheduled for August 1 between the President and trade unions breached the trust placed on the President by the unions.
The letter, sent by the Alliance’s Convener D.J. Rajakaruna, said the trade unions ended their islandwide strike on July 26 after the President promised them another meeting on August 1 at noon along with the three subject Ministers to take a final decision on the issue.
“Your Excellency told us during the discussion that our proposal for the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) to take over petroleum facilities at the Hambantota Port can still be considered as the Hambantota Port Concession Agreement regarding the hand over of the port to the Chinese firm had been approved by Cabinet subject to amendments,” the letter said.
Given that the President had assured them a meeting on August 1, the subsequent statement made by the Prime Minister that the agreement would be signed on Saturday raised suspicions on whether the trust built between the President and the unions had been breached, the letter said.
The trade union alliance said it had briefed the President regarding how petroleum facilities at the port would help to sell oil to vessels coming to the Hambantota port and this would be a major boon to the country’s economy in the future. “As such, we noted that to hand over such a national asset was an act of treachery.”
The letter said the unions continued to believe that the agreement would contain provisions enabling the introduction of amendments into the agreement to meet their demands.
“We hope that the trust placed in Your Excellency by the country’s people and by us will not be broken and that this issue will be resolved during discussions on August 1. However, in the event that this trust is broken, we inform Your Excellency that we will bring together all forces opposed to this act and work together to defeat these efforts,” the trade union alliance added.