Nuwara Eliya Mayor denies allegations

by P. Rajaratnam in Nuwara Eliya

The Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council monthly meeting presided by Mayor Mahinda Kumara took a different turn in its proceedings when one of the members, S. Chandren spoke on the recent CWC's collective agreement signed between the CWC and other two constituent trade unions and Employers Federation relating to the estate workers' wages.

S. Chandren who represents the CWC in the council spoke on the CWC's victory and getting a wage increase for the bulk of estate workers. He advocated the CWC's achievement describing the rest of trade unions as petty kades type of trade unions desperately losing their image and not succeeding in their campaigns.

The other member who represents the upcountry's workers' front, V.R. Rajahram protested along with four other members and said that speaker S. Chandren's allegations were far from the truth. He said had it not been for the agitations and protests by the rest of other 16 trade unions against the signing of the so-called arbitrary collective agreement nothing could have been achieved.

Rajahram alleged that the collective agreement was signed hurriedly to safeguard the Employers Federation. After several members spoke against the collective agreement, the issue was put for voting by the Mayor. Of the co members, four abstained including the Mayor Mahinda Kumara, Falil, Chandana Karunaratna and Munidasa, and the other members. L. Nehruji, P. Chandrasekar, R.Kethees and the speaker Rajahram voted against the motion while the mover of the motion only voted for his own motion and the motion was defeated.

The meeting also dealt at length on the recently concluded Nuwara Eliya April festivities where at the committee stage several allegations were levelled against the Mayor by the Deputy Mayor Tissa Seneveratne.

These allegations were totally denied by Mayor, Mahinda Kumara who added that this year April season was one of the most successful where over one million holiday makers were present and enjoyed themselves. In addition, one of the biggest revenues made by the Council which has been proved by documentary evidence the Mayor said that his hands and the councils' were clean and unquestionable.