• The management later agreed to pay Rs.65 million of payroll for over 800 employees after discussions with SLRC TUs   

By Kurulu Koojana Kariyakarawana   

A few hundreds of staff members of the country’s national television Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) went on strike yesterday morning for several hours, when they did not receive their August salary till last evening.    

All six trade unions of the SLRC backed by over 200 staff members in various categories from the production to the labourer resorted to a work stoppage around 10.00am yesterday as they had not received their salaries, as scheduled to be on every 25th of the month, sources said.   

Sources within the national television told the Daily Mirror last evening that a sum of Rs.65 million was supposed to be remunerated amongst a permanent staff of over 800 employees in the SLRC every month, which had not been made by yesterday morning as its financial management could not find such money.   

The unions backed by the employees stopped all work except for the running telecast of its programmes yesterday for several hours until late afternoon, where ongoing discussions between the union leaders and the top management had resulted in the latter agreeing to pay the salaries before evening.   
A spokesperson for one of the trade unions said the utter mismanagement of the institute had lead to this crisis, where it has become impossible to at least pay the employees’ salaries on time.   

According to TU sources, the problem has started in early 2020 when one of the two main income generators of the television, of National Lotteries Board (NLB) weekly telecast of draws, had been taken out from the SLRC and had been given to the other state owned television service Independent Television Network (ITN).   

The SLRC was generating a substantial amount of its monthly income through producing and telecasting the two weekly lottery drawings of NLB and DLB (Development Lotteries Board) prior to 2019.   

However, with the electing of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2019 and soon after in the following year, both the production and the telecast of the NLB drawing session had been taken out from the SLRC and the telecast rights had been given to the ITN. The production rights of the NLB programme had been given to state owned production house Selacine Television Institute.   

The income from the NLB programme’s production alone generated a sum of Rs.40 million per month to the SLRC and all that had been transferred to the Selacine causing a severe revenue loss to the national television.   
But very few had the knowledge that the actual production of the NLB programme had been awarded as a sub contract to a private production house owned by a prominent media secretary of ex-Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.   

However, with this sudden loss of income the Treasury had agreed and had been paying the lack of funds to the SLRC for many months until that too was stopped several months ago.   

Since, then the television was struggling to pay for their own staff and even the over time money of the staff was reduced by 50% once before about four months ago and the remaining 50% has not been paid to date, the source said.   

The utter mismanagement of the state institute witnessed the transfer of its top two management posts, the Chairman and the Director General for four times between 2019 and 2022 to date being them the political appointments, the sources further said.   Attempts made to contact SLRC Chairman for comment was not successful.     

• problem has started in early 2020 when one of the two main income generators of the television, of National Lotteries Board (NLB) weekly telecast of draws, had been taken out from the SLRC