Unions launch scathing attack on SriLankan Airlines top brass

The Alliance of Unions of SriLankan Airlines says that they have no confidence or trust regarding the restructuring process of the country’s national carrier if the current Chairman, CEO and Board of Directors continue to remain part of the company’s management. 

The collective of professional trade unions within the airline have issued a scathing attack on the SriLankan Airlines hierarchy, in a letter addressed to the Chairman of the airline Mr. Ajith Dias.  

The alliance comprises of the Association of SriLankan Airlines Licensed Aircraft Engineers, The Airline Pilots Guild of Sri Lanka, the Executive Association of SriLankan Airlines, the Flight Attendants Union, Sri Lankan Airlines Aircraft Technicians Association and the Sri Lanka Nidahas Sevaka Sangamaya – Sri Lankan Airlines Branch. 

The letter refers to the recent communiqué issued by the Chairman to all employees regarding the future of the national carrier.

The unions charge that the communiqué on the present status of the Airline now serves to substantiate what has been echoed on many occasions at numerous forums; “that your Board does not have the prerequisite competencies or the attributes to manage our Airline, leave alone bring any stability to it.” 

“The task entrusted and accepted by the Board and yourself was not to compromise the livelihood of nearly 7000 employees and their families by giving yourselves priority to stature, travel benefits, bonuses, or having dealings which could itself be a conflict of interest for a director in any company.”

The letter says that nearing the eve of the third year of the current management, the Administration has now decided; or been compelled to invite an “experienced international consultant” to attend to the task that they had first been entrusted to complete. 

“Perhaps it may have been more prudent to have hired such a competent person locally or internationally from the inception when you had first assumed office, and observed that the task was beyond the competency of yourself, the Board and specifically the current CEO; who had absolutely no business or managerial experience of any significance, to qualify for a task of this scale at such a critical time,” it said. 

The unions also stressed that all these controversial decisions were implemented during his tenure as the Chairman and that Mr Dias too must bear accountability and liability, for what is going to transpire within the next few months. 

“For the first time in the longstanding history of our National Carrier, you as a Chairman; having enjoyed all the benefits of your position for the last 3 years, have achieved the distinction of being the first in your capacity to state that the lives and sustenance of nearly 7000 employees and their families is now in jeopardy, through no fault of their own.”

“We wish to very categorically state that if you, the CEO or any one of your members from the Board of Directors is retained and remains a constituent of the Management of our Company; post restructuring process, we have no confidence in, or trust that the said process will be effective and yield the desired results. We also wish to place on record that we will consider the liabilities and accountability of the Board, for the present state that the employees have been subjected to.”

Full text:

Mr. Ajith Dias,
Chairman, 
SriLankan Airlines

Dear Sir,

We the “Alliance of Unions - SriLankan Airlines” write with reference to your recent communiqué to all employees regarding the future of our National Carrier as we wish to place on record our opinion on this crucial matter, in the best interest of all employees.

The Board chaired by you, was appointed by the Government of Sri Lanka nearly three years ago to ameliorate our projected financial decline and rectify many malpractices and misappropriations your predecessors had allegedly committed. This collective task was entrusted to you and your Board, with the target of resurrecting our Airline and preventing or reducing it from being a further burden on the National Economy. It is also prudent to mention that our Airline was also used as a center-piece in the political campaign of the current Government and to that effect, high profile investigations were made by the Administration with a view to rectifying this situation. Although plagued with such allegations of mismanagement, the Board and yourself accepted the task of bringing stability to the Airline in the short term and to turn-around the Airline’s financial woes to a sustainable, if not a profitable entity.

As per your statements highlighted in the media and for reasons best known to yourself and the Board, you had dismissed any such alleged malpractices as nothing but reports based on hearsay; therefore it could be reasonably assumed that the only burden taken over by your Board was the accumulated debt, but with a free hand to turn-around the fortunes of the Airline.

In stark contrast however, your communiqué on the present status of the Airline now serves to substantiate what has been echoed on many occasions at numerous forums; that your Board does not have the prerequisite competencies or the attributes to manage our Airline, leave alone bring any stability to it. The task entrusted and accepted by the Board and yourself was not to compromise the livelihood of nearly 7000 employees and their families by giving yourselves priority to stature, travel benefits, bonuses, or having dealings which could itself be a conflict of interest for a director in any company. You are well aware that there has been a formal request through the RTI by the ALPGSL, for information regarding the benefits enjoyed by individuals of the top management, as well as details pertaining to the exorbitant lease agreements and its eventual cancellation, which have been denied on the grounds of “Confidentiality”. We the employees, request your clarification on how this information can be labeled as confidential, when it has contributed to the further accumulated debt that you now state, may result in a potential loss of employment of nearly 7000 individuals.

For this Airline to gain a firm footing once more, a team that would lead by example is required. In fact, there are many Companies who have returned from the very brink of bankruptcy, solely thankful to those who have lead from the front by sheer example, whilst uplifting the morale of its employees. You must now ask yourself whether your team has been worthy of such praise or mention, or whether the morale of your employees has been bettered, since the time you took to the helm of our Airline.

Nearing the eve of the third year of your management, the Administration has now decided; or been compelled to invite - in your own words, an “experienced international consultant” to attend to the task that you had first been entrusted to complete. Perhaps it may have been more prudent to have hired such a competent person locally or internationally from the inception when you had first assumed office, and observed that the task was beyond the competency of yourself, the Board and specifically the current CEO; who had absolutely no business or managerial experience of any significance, to qualify for a task of this scale at such a critical time. It needs to be stressed that all these controversial decisions were implemented during your tenure as the Chairman and that you too must bear accountability and liability, for what is going to transpire within the next few months. For the first time in the longstanding history of our National Carrier, you as a Chairman; having enjoyed all the benefits of your position for the last 3 years, have achieved the distinction of being the first in your capacity to state that the lives and sustenance of nearly 7000 employees and their families is now in jeopardy, through no fault of their own.

We also believe that it is unwarranted and inequitable for any Government of Sri Lanka, to criticize the fiscal performance of the Airline, as throughout history; with the exception of the Emirates partnership, we have always been managed by Government appointees who have had minimal if not no experience or credentials, to run a dynamic airline business. Therefore, we kindly request that any restructuring process be formulated, whilst taking into consideration and including the opinions of the employee bodies, thereby maintaining transparency to the employees as well as the Nation.

We wish to very categorically state that if you, the CEO or any one of your members from the Board of Directors is retained and remains a constituent of the Management of our Company; post restructuring process, we have no confidence in, or trust that the said process will be effective and yield the desired results. We also wish to place on record that we will consider the liabilities and accountability of the Board, for the present state that the employees have been subjected to.