• Whopping Rs.5.5 billion taken as overtime last year
• Some employees have claimed overtime payment for 400 hours a month

By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana

Port workers have obtained a whopping Rs. 5.580 billon last year in terms of overtime payment, falsifying the number of hours they worked for, the COPE finds.   

During some months, certain employees of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) have claimed overtime payments for 400 hours a month in some instances.   

A sum of Rs. 63 billion which Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) has earned from 2016 to 2021 has gone missing, investigations carried out by the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) have revealed. 

It was also revealed that the funds received after the leasing of Hambantota Port in 2017 have not been used to pay the loan which was borrowed to construct the port.  It was revealed that strict orders have been given for further investigation on these massive malpractices.