“I want system change, but leave me alone.”

The trade unions and the political parties they are affiliated to, especially the JVP which had sacrificed the lives of tens of thousands of their cadres in  two insurrections must take the major portion of the blame for the attitudinal decadence among the working masses

Trade union action announced by seven out of eight trade unions affiliated to the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) last week against the government’s move to implement a unified time table for the SLTB and private sector buses literally flopped. Commuters did not feel that a work strike is on by the state-run SLTB employees.

The demand put forward by the employees of the SLTB is ironic and also amusing. It is a well-known fact that the SLTB is at the receiving end of an unfair competition between  state-owned  and private buses. The bus crew members of the private sector use every strategy at their disposal – from bribery to thuggery to scuttle the services of the state-run competitor. 

The former Transport Minister the late Kumara Welgama, referring to the bribes received by  SLTB employees from the private bus operators, once said that a wad of betel at the Central Bus Stand in Pettah cost Rs. 110 whereas it was only Rs. 10 in other places. What he meant was that the private bus conductors give a wad of betel to the SLTB bus conductor plying on the same route, hiding a hundred rupee note in it, signaling the latter to follow his bus, allowing him to sweep the route.

Attempts made by the successive transport ministers since the nineteen eighties to implement unified time tables for both the state and private sector buses drew a blank for one or the other reasons, especially due to  non-corporation on the part of the trade unions. In a similar incident, the employees of the Postal Department launched a strike campaign days ago over several demands including opposition to  finger print machines at their work places. When they failed to garner support from the public, they stated that finger print issue is not their primary demand. Primary or secondary, that was one of their demands. It is surprising for the people to have the audacity and shamelessness to demand the removal of a system to accurately mark the attendance at their work places. The reason is obvious, and no more explanations are needed. 

Some people are heard arguing that the trade unions affiliated to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the main constituent party in the ruling National People’s Power (NPP) coalition, had protested against  unified time tables for public transport when they were in the Opposition. Yes, it is true. Yet, what we as the citizens of this country must be concerned about is not the contradictions between then and now policies of the JVP/NPP, but what they are doing as the ruling party now. 

Agriculture Minister K.D. Lal Kantha who is well-known for his outspokenness, satirically said recently at a public rally that everybody wanted a system change, but without them not wanting to change. 

There is no doubt that  successive governments are responsible for the economic crisis that Sri Lanka is now reeling from due to the recent bankruptcy. During the peak of the crisis,  the then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa too admitted to this. He said:  “It was the past rulers including me who were responsible for this situation.” In May 2022, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva blamed  mismanagement of the economy for  Sri Lanka’s economic crisis. The Supreme Court ruled that the President, the Prime Minister and the finance minister in the previous government -- all were Rajapakse brothers -- and a set of officials were responsible for the economic crisis. 

However, it does not rule out the social responsibilities and duties of the ordinary people, especially the working masses. The trade unions and the political parties they are affiliated to, especially the JVP which had sacrificed the lives of tens of thousands of their cadres in  two insurrections must take the major portion of the blame for the attitudinal decadence among the working masses. The trade unions in Sri Lanka are always concerned about their rights and not their duties and social responsibilities. Minister Lal Kantha had been  sensible enough to  admit this fact as well.

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