SL must rethink economic policies: Ranil
12 October 2011 02:15 pm
Opposition United National Party (UNP) Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said today, that, Sri Lanka should use countries such as South Korea, Germany and the Scandinavian countries as role models to adjust its economy to avoid a possible recession in the future.
Speaking at the second congress of the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) held at the Centre for Banking Studies in Kotte, Mr. Wickremesighe said, Sri Lanka should work out new ways of adjusting its economy if it wished to face the challenges posed by the global economic situation and suggested the adoption of a social market economy.
He said the economic recession taking place in Europe was spreading to other parts of the world including Asia. “Sri Lanka will not be able to avoid this malady,” he said.
Mr. Wickremsighe said people could not continue cutting down their expenditure when faced by the escalating cost of living.
He said the working class should be given a proper salary for their services and cited what’s happening in Greece as an example.
Mr. Wickremesinghe said Greece was on the verge of a massive revolution because of the rising levels of unemployment and staff retrenchment. He said the unemployment was rising in Britain and America as well, and urged the government, trade unions and the employers to discuss how best to avoid the imminent economic disasters.
Mr. Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka should not depend on the stock market but find other investment opportunities.
Labour Minister Gamini Lokuge stressed the need for a dialogue among the employers and employees on the emerging situation worldwide and said the trade union sector should be changed so as to be compatible with the new world order.
He said there was an environment conducive for such a dialogue in the post war era.
Some trade unions held a demonstration outside the venue and urged the ILO to probe the misuse of funds by the NTUF. They called for a proper investigation on these corruption charges.
(Yohan Perera)