JVP Union Leader on state payroll for 23 years with zero teaching

• He questioned the party’s integrity, particularly in light of its condemnation of others for alleged abuses of state resources

State Minister of Home Affairs Asoka Priyantha launched a scathing critique against Mahinda Jayasinghe, the General Secretary of the JVP-affiliated Ceylon Teachers’ Services Union accusing him of abstaining from teaching duties for the past 23 years while still drawing a salary from the state.  He said he considered it a blatant contradiction in the JVP’s position on state resource misuse. 

Despite the party’s claims of refraining from such practices, Priyantha presented Jayasinghe’s case as a prime example of the opposite.   

While acknowledging the legitimacy of employees being exempted for trade union activities, Priyantha posed a moral question aimed at the JVP. He questioned the party’s integrity, particularly in light of its condemnation of others for alleged abuses of state resources. The minister emphasized that Jayasinghe’s case serves as a noteworthy illustration, where a trade union leader associated with the JVP reportedly continues to receive a state salary without actively contributing to teaching for over two decades.