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Nine CIMA employees allege they were threatened and forced to resign
View(s):The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) Sri Lanka branch is embroiled in controversy over the termination of the services of nine staff members under what these employees claim was severe duress.
The four women and five men have taken their case to the Narahenpita police and the Department of Labour in Sri Lanka. CIMA’s US-based top management has also been notified. The organisation has a 50-year presence here and Sri Lanka is now its second largest market outside Britain, earning millions in membership and other fees.
The employees had tenures ranging from two-and-a-half to 26 years. They are aged between 29 and 53 and are managers, executives and non-executives. According to the police complaint, they were held “hostage” to prevent them from speaking to each other, lawyers or family members until they signed resignation letters drawn up ‘on their behalf’ by CIMA.
They were also allegedly warned that they would not receive their statutory payments or a service letter unless they immediately complied. The Sunday Times received information related to the February 21 incident from external sources.
The employees have maintained that the resignation was obtained through false representations, intimidation, harassment, manipulation and under severe duress. The Sunday Times contacted Venkkat Ramanan, CIMA’s Regional Vice President Asia Pacific, and Zahara Ansary, CIMA Sri Lanka Country Manager, for a response to the allegations. Mr Ramanan did not respond to an email and Ms Ansary neither answered her telephone nor acknowledged a text message.
All CIMA Sri Lanka employees were summoned to a meeting on February 21, according to details already on record. Mr Ramanan, Associate Director Human Resources (Asia and Australasia) Michael Lee and Lead Manager IT Support (Asia and Africa) Rajith Liyanage were present. One group of employees was instructed to go to the auditorium. The other group of nine was told the company had decided to retrench them as part of its global business transformation strategy.
The basis for selection was not given. They were ordered to surrender laptops, credit cards, cupboard and drawer keys and mobile phones provided by the company. They were notified that the process was being carried out in consultation with the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC) and that its representatives were present. However, authoritative Federation sources said neither their lawyers nor other staff members were present at the meeting.
The identified employees were then spoken to individually by three persons introduced as EFC representatives. Other workers were barred from the sections where these rooms were. The officials gave the shortlisted group a prepared resignation letter, a receipt of acceptance of resignation letter and a receipt of service letter. They also explained the scheme of compensation.
According to the police complaint, the “EFC lawyers” instructed each retrenched employee that they had no option but to sign the three letters. They also allegedly said it was the best option available to them; and that, if they did not agree, they would not be entitled to any compensation or service letter.
The employees were denied requests to consult lawyers or family members and were reportedly told they cannot leave the room unless they obeyed. They claim that everything happened so fast and “under such intimidation and duress” that they were shocked into signing the documents. They also received compensation cheques. They were then escorted to their desks “like common criminals, and monitored while we were directed to gather up our belongings”.
The process was led by three CIMA members, the employees say, violating ethics and good governance codes they are bound to follow as members.