CMLS calls for talks with trade unions

By Rathindra Kuruwita

A country facing severe crises in economic, social and political fronts needs a leader who believes in consensus building, College of Medical Laboratory Science (CMLS) President, Ravi Kumudesh says.President Ranil Wickremesinghe, when he was in the opposition, spoke extensively about consensual governance, he said.

“However, after he came to power, he has started behaving like a dictator. The government is showing that it has no respect for the labour force in the country through its actions,” he said.

Commenting on the government’s decision to send 20 Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) union activists on compulsory leave and banning them from entering CPC premises, Kumudesh said that the government is making workers increasingly resentful.

“Most of these issues could have been solved if the Minister of Power spoke with the unions. The government is trying to reform the energy sector without talking to any stakeholders. This is the antithesis of consensual governance,” he said.