The Colombo High Court on Thursday (18) ordered Randika Rajapaksa and Chandula Rajapaksa, two directors of Samson Engineers (Pvt) Ltd belonging to DSI Samson Group, and Company Secretary Varuni De Silva to not interfere with the duties of DSI Managing Director Sajith Rajapaksa.
Sajith, filing the case, pointed out that the two directors and the secretary of the company conspired and exerted pressure on him hampering his duties.
Sajith also said that they had deliberately disrupted his work to make it difficult to run the company by deliberately neglecting the company’s operations, by holding frequent meetings and by obstructing his administrative affairs.
DSI Samson Group, which is one of the largest private companies in the country, has about 30 subsidiaries. The conflicts within the Board of Directors had begun following a proposal made by a former managing director to evenly distribute the shares of the company among the family members.
The former managing director has submitted the proposal to the Board of Directors in the first week of April this year.
It was reported that some of the most profitable subsidiaries of this company are being operated by the sons of this managing director.
Sajith is one of the sons of the said managing director and Samson Rubber Products (Pvt) Ltd, which brings in the highest foreign exchange, is managed by Sajith.
Employees of all Bank of Ceylon (BoC) branches have decided to walk out of service at 12.30 pm today (May 29).
The decision has been taken over the current management not taking the initiative to provide them with the 06-month incentive package approved by the Board of Directors, according to the Bank Employees’ Union.
Central Committee member of the Bank Employees’ Union – Najith Wijeratne, stated that they will initiate a token strike if this issue is not resolved by June 06.
BoC employees have also held lunchtime protests yesterday (May 28) in front of 22 branches in major cities islandwide.
The National Salt Ltd. says that 2,800 MT of salt imported from India have been released to the market.
It says the food-grade salt stock, which arrived on May 23, is being distributed to the market through local salt sales agents for consumer sale.
The Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development states that Lanka Salt Ltd. is importing 10,000 MT of salt, while over 100 importers, including those from Pettah, are bringing in an additional 100,000 MT.
Employees of Michelin Lanka Pvt Ltd, located in the Midigama area of Matara, allege that there are plans to sell the company.
This has raised concerns among employees about job losses, leading to protests.
Workers allege that the company is planning to dismiss them with a minimal severance payment, which they believe is insufficient.
An employee has revealed to the media that after workers were informed about this decision, a newly formed employees’ union has set several demands to the company authorities.
Workers have demanded a fair severance package, but authorities have offered Rs.200,000, (a sum employees consider inadequate) reportedly asking them to provide resignation letters in return.
An employer also states that before the current government took office, Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe had proposed that forming a trade union could help secure workers’ rights. However, the president and secretary of that union are now reportedly in hiding, he employer adds.
Meanwhile, holding a press conference recently, the Inter Company Employees’ Union had revealed that Michelin Lanka Pvt Ltd is in the process of selling the company to the Indian company – CEAT.
According to the union, CEAT has purchased a majority stake in the company.
As part of the deal, it is reported that the Midigama factory of Michelin Lanka Pvt Ltd and part of its operations in Ja-Ela have been transferred to Indian CEAT company.
The Inter Company Employees’ Union had stated there was no issue as a MoU was signed between the two companies to secure workers’ rights. According to the agreement, Michelin Lanka Pvt Ltd had pledged to honor the full service period of affected workers, while CEAT agreed to provide appropriate compensation based on their years of service, the union adds.
Michelin Lanka was previously a part of Camso Loadstar (Private) Ltd, one of the largest suppliers of industrial tyres in the global market.
The situation at Michelin Lanka follows the sudden closure of the NEXT garment factory in the Katunayake Free Trade Zone a few weeks ago, leaving over 1,400 workers jobless.
In a statement, the company cited high production costs as the reason for shutting down operations in Sri Lanka.
