Joint Opposition up in arms over “EPF robbery”

By Chamodi Gunawardana

The Joint Opposition yesterday claimed that it wouldn’t allow Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to rob Rs. 1.7 trillion of the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF).

Wickremesinghe’s new economic policy revealed in Parliament recently outlines steps to combine the EPF and the Employees’ Trust Fund (ETF) to create a new national pension scheme which he said would be more secure than the present scheme. The policy envisages investing the funds in the stock market as a private investment under the advisory of a special management board.

Criticising Wickremesinghe’s statement, former Minister and MP Bandula Gunawardena charged the scheme would pave the way to destroy trillions of workers’ funds.

“When former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected in 2005, the EPF totalled Rs. 405 billion. We invested it in Treasury bills and raised it up to Rs. 1,442 billion. It was a 265% growth,” Gunawardena said.

He added: “Late Leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) T.B. Ilangaratne introduced the EPF in 1958 as the largest social security scheme of the country and it still remains the same. We will not allow Wickremesinghe to destroy it.”

Speaking on behalf of the Trade Union Federation, MP Gamini Lokuge claimed the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) would support Wickremesinghe in carrying out the robbery.

“When the Joint Opposition raised questions regarding the matter in the House, Wickremesinghe replied that the JVP had collectively agreed to form a new pension scheme. However, the JVP has been showing a different face before the public to score points,” he alleged.

“JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake claimed Wickremesinghe’s economic policy would be another disaster similar to the previous policies of the United National Party (UNP). However JVP Propaganda Secretary MP Vijitha Herath has contributed to develop the policy with Wickremesinghe,” Lokuge charged.