Disgruntled employees flex muscles

Mackwoods drama continues:

By Lalin Fernandopulle

The members of the Ceylon Mercantile Union (CMU) of Mackwoods (Pvt) Ltd who took umbrage over being forced to resign by the Mackwoods management last month with only a three-month salary compensation package will resort to legal remedies for redress if their claim for an acceptable compensation is turned down by the management.

CMU Vice President J.V.P. Chandrapala who represents the employees who refused to accept the three-month compensation package with other dues said they need a reasonable compensation package for the service they rendered to the company. “Many of the employees have served over 20 years while some 30 years.

We want the management to consider the years of service of employees and compensate us properly. It is not fair to pay three months salary to all employees.

We have lodged an entry at the Borella police and our next move will be to go to the Labour Tribunal if the company fails to address our grievances,” Chandrapala said. The services of several employees of the main company, Mackwoods (Pvt) Ltd were terminated overnight on August 25 and 26 without any notice and were forced to accept an ex-gratia payment in place of a compensation package which was accompanied by a letter of termination in effect from the same day. The management undertook to pay the provident fund and gratuity and made a verbal pledge to pay the previous two months unpaid salary and other outstanding dues.

The management claimed that the termination was precipitated by the adverse financial situation due to litigation against the company in May as well as the NDB Bank parate action whereby the company’s factory at Ja-Ela was seized, which the management claimed, made it impossible for the company to carry out its normal operations and were therefore not in a position to offer work to the employees.

“We do not agree that the company is in a financial crisis. The management created such a picture to get rid of employees. This is a company that stood all odds for 175 years how come it could tumble overnight. It is something fabricated to get rid of us,” Chandarapala claimed. Employees allege that this move was instigated by Chris Nonis and implemented by Mackwoods Finance Director Lalith Fonseka with Manager Personnel and Administration Lal Liyanage to hoodwink them.

“We cannot be taken for a ride so easily. We know the ins and outs of the company and the ulterior motives of those responsible to cause doom to a long standing company in the country. This was a deliberate and calculated move to dupe us into accepting termination,” a CMU member said. He said some employees accepted three months salary compensation with the verbal pledge by the management to pay all other dues.

We cannot trust verbal pledges. We will fight tooth and nail until our request is fulfilled. “The CMU is with us and has pledged to take our case forward. It is sad to see such a prestigious institution crumbling like a pack of cards.

There is no operation in most offices”, he said. Most employees had accepted the letters under protest, as past unpaid dues going back several months, such as salary a traveling and subsistence were not covered in the letter. Over 60 employees at all levels, factory, minor staff, clerical, executive and senior Managers lost their jobs overnight in this drastic move. This latest development follows in the wake of the disputed sale of the controlling interest in Agalawattte Plantations PLC, the Groups largest asset, by Chris Nonis, Shelendra Nonis Ranaweera and Lalith Fonseka last month. However, many employees have said that a number of the trading operations are not dependent on the Ja-Ela factory complex and this was an excuse to justify termination. All attempts to contact the officials of the company for their views before this section went to press, came a cropper.