SJB trade union seeks court intervention for SLT privatisation blue-print

• By Lakmal Sooriyagoda

‘Samagi Sewaka Sangamaya’, a trade union attached to the ‘Samgi Jana Balawegaya’ (SJB) political party, has filed a Fundamental Rights petition seeking Supreme Court’s intervention in regularising the proposed privatisation of Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT). 

The trade union, comprising employees and shareholders of SLT, has filed this petition in the Supreme Court, citing concerns over the violation of their constitutional rights and the rights of the citizenry at large under and in terms of Article 12(1) of the Constitution.   

The Union asserts that SLT, a prominent telecommunications company with an asset base of Rs.240.6 billion, has become the centre of attention due to the proposed privatisation efforts. 

In the company’s annual report for 2022, SLT reported revenue of Rs.107,710 million and a profit before tax of Rs.10,588 million. 

Additionally, SLT has made significant contributions to the Treasury, with taxes amounting to Rs.5,823 million as of 31st December 2022. The union argues that SLT is a profit-generating blue-chip company and questions the necessity of privatising a successful entity due to the lack of transparency and research coming to the decision.

The trade union seeks greater transparency in the privatisation process, calling for the involvement of the Auditor General and the Department of Management Service who are also named as respondents in the application. 

The trade union implores to the Court that the Auditor General, the Department of Management Service, the Treasury and the other stakeholders of the government to propose a blueprint to govern the operations of government-owned profit making institutions including SLT. 

The petitioners are appealing to the court to address the overlooked process and ensure a fair and impartial evaluation and the implementation of the said blue-print.

The petition will be supported by Farman Cassim PC, Budwin Siriwardena, Vinura Kularatne, and Jessica Abeyratne, Attorneys-at-Law. They are being instructed by Dimuthu Kuruppaarachchi, Attorney-at-Law.