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President Mahinda Rajapaksa promised the public sector employees a pay hike of Rs. 2,500 in the run-up to the last presidential election. He was quite desperate for votes at that time. He won comfortably but has not yet honoured his promise, though the State workers voted overwhelmingly for him. His main contender Gen. Sarath Fonseka pledged a salary increase of Rs. 10,000 but failed to impress the workers. The State workers have fallen between two stools without either Rs. 2,500 or Rs. 10,000! The government says it will grant a wage hike when it presents the next budget in parliament in November, but the workers may be in for another disappointment if they count their chickens before they are hatched.
The JVP-led trade unions have taken up the cause of the public worker. Demanding a pay hike of Rs. 8,000, they have threatened to resort to drastic trade union action unless the government meets their demand forthwith. However, the question is whether the JVP is equal to the task of coercing the government into submission. Its strike at the height of the war to win a salary increase of Rs. 5,000 became a grand flop.
However, the fact remains that workers in all sectors deserve relief owing to the spiralling cost of living. One cannot but agree with the JVP that an average family of four persons needs an income of about Rs. 40,000 to survive. So, the trade unions cannot be faulted for demanding better salaries for their members. But they cannot be forgiven for having turned a Nelsonian eye to the serious lapses on the part of their membership in the State sector, which is characterized by waste, inefficiency, bribery, corruption, dereliction of duty and inordinate delays. It was only the other day that the Treasury Chief Dr. P. B. Jayasundera turned the spotlight on the colossal waste in the public sector. He pointed out that the cost of purchasing drugs for hospitals amounted to only ten percent of the waste in the public sector.
What have the trade union knights in shining armour got to say to this? The blame for everything cannot be laid at the doorstep of politicians. The State employees are also responsible for this situation. The funds so wasted are raised through taxes and loans, both local and foreign. If this massive hole in the public purse could be plugged, the State may be in a position to look after its workers better.
Trade unionism is a give-and-take process, so to speak, and unions must be reasonable in dealing with their employers. They cannot have the cake and eat it. Unfortunately, that exactly is what is happening in this country.
They must learn from countries like Japan, where workers` unions not only fight for their rights and dues but also make compromises and sacrifices at times of crisis to keep their workplaces as well as the national economy afloat and avert retrenchment. They even take pay cuts voluntarily.
It is not being suggested that Sri Lankan workers have their salaries slashed while their political leaders shower pay hikes and perks on themselves. But, the trade unions here must act responsibly and reasonably without doing a Shylock all the time.
The JVP has been on a campaign against politicians` profligacy and dissipation and therefore the onus is on its trade union arm and its allies on the warpath to rally the workers for tackling the criminal waste in the public sector and to enhance national productivity. While fighting for their rights, trade unions must be mindful of their duties as well.
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