தவறவிடாதீர்கள்..!உடனே பதிவு செய்யுங்கள்

BY M. R. M. WASEEM

The National Federation of Workers and allied trade unions have warned the government of massive countrywide protests if it proceeds with plans to integrate the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) and the Employees' Trust Fund (ETF) into a single mechanism without consulting them.

The warning was issued during a joint trade union press conference held in Colombo on Friday, where union leaders strongly condemned the government's unilateral moves to merge the two major labor funds,

Addressing the media, Saman Rathnapriya, President of the Government Nursing Officers' Association and a former United National Party(UNP) Parliamentarian, revealed that a cabinet paper has already been drafted to facilitate this restructuring.

He accused the government of completely bypassing key stakeholders in its decision-making process.

"The EPF was established strictly to safeguard the long-term retirement security of private-sector workers, and it is legally managed under the direct purview of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL)," Rathnapriya stated. "Similarly, the ETF operates as a distinct public fund under Central Bank supervision.

Together, these two funds hold an impressive pool of 5.5 trillion rupees, making it the largest retirement fund system in South Asia."

Rathnapriya emphasized that because these massive life savings are managed through the Central Bank, workers enjoy a strong sense of state guarantee and financial security.

He expressed deep alarm over government plans to remove the funds from the Central Bank's direct oversight and isolate them under an independent management board

"We are fully aware that this restructuring is being driven by pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF)," Rathnapriya asserted.

"However, the hard-earned money of the country's working class cannot be manipulated simply to satisfy external financial mandates or conditionalities."

The union leader also criticized the government's deceptive claim that it is consulting trade unions.

He alleged that authorities are exclusively talking to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-aligned trade union while freezing out all other major labor representatives. He warned that the state is attempting to establish a tripartite management structure comprising the government, employers, and state-friendly unions.

Under such a system, the state and corporate employers could easily collaborate to misuse worker funds for their own fiscal needs.

Rathnapriya concluded by stating that removing the EPF and ETF from the Central Bank's direct custody strips away their institutional security.