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Airline Pilots’ Guild responds to accusations

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The Airline Pilots’ Guild of Sri Lanka issued a statement clarifying the accusations made on the delay of SriLankan Airlines flights in the recent past.

It said the failure of the Airline management to solve the serious issues that have arisen, had led to this situation.

Ports, Shipping and Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva recently accused SriLankan Airlines pilots of refusing to operate a flight after a first officer on duty had fallen ill.

Responding to these allegations, the Pilots Guild said the Airline requires at least 330 Pilots to function at full capacity for the designated flights.

“However, over 70 Pilots have resigned from the Airline in the last year (2022- 2023) with many more resignations pending due to the issues faced by the Pilots. The Pilots of the Airline have been left in the lurch as a result of a spate of decisions by the Management of the Airline compelling us to be overworked,” it said.

“The severity of the issue was witnessed in the recent incident where there were no Pilots on standby to be assigned to a flight which eventually departed more than 12 hours later than the scheduled time of departure.”

“SriLankan Airlines pays one of the lowest wages well below industry standards to Pilots. Prior to June 2023, the Pilots were paid their salaries at an arbitrary USD capped at a rate which was nearly 40% below the rate of the Central Bank.”

“The cadre of Pilots which should ideally be at 330 now only has approximately 250 as a result of the shortsighted, arbitrary and callous decisions of the Management.”

“The recent issues regarding flights stem from these actions and/or inactions of the Management itself which the Management have continuously refused to pay heed to. We have as a body at all times raised these concerns repeatedly including by way of litigation due to the attitude of the Management of the Airline.”

“We urge that these matters be brought to the notice and the attention of the general public and all stakeholders of the Airline in order to facilitate the issues raised being addressed and resolved,” it said.

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Forests on state lands to be designated as reserves

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The Ministry of Environment has decided to designate several forests located on state owned lands as official forest reserves.

Deputy Minister – Anton Jayakody has stated that such forests, each spanning 05 hectares or more, have been identified in every district.

Special priority will be given to designating forest reserves on mountain peaks.

In the first phase, 20 forests in districts including Monaragala and Ampara have been selected under the new program named ‘Vanaspathi’,  he said.

He further said the initiative aims to protect these forest areas and expand the country’s forest cover.

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No cases filed against 22 banned pyramid schemes – CBSL

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Although the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has banned 22 institutions operating illegal pyramid schemes, no legal action has been taken against any of them so far, according to reports.

This was disclosed during a workshop held at the CBSL yesterday (July 08) on the dangers of pyramid schemes.

According to CBSL officials, after initial investigations, the files were handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for further inquiry.

The CID’s Financial Crimes Unit has reportedly completed its investigations and submitted findings to the Attorney General’s Department, which is responsible for filing cases.

However, it was noted that not a single case has been filed to date.

The CBSL states that investigations will be continued against companies engaged in these illegal practices and hopes at least one or two such cases would be filed by the end of this year or early next year (2026).

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NPP’s Nishantha Jayaweera sworn in as MP

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U. D. Nishantha Jayaweera was sworn in as a National People’s Power (NPP) National List Member of Parliament before the Speaker of the House – Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne, today (July 09).

He fills the Parliamentary seat left vacant following the resignation of Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma last month.

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