Customs work-to-rule to continue as Treasury eyeing for Rs.7Bn rewards fund

• Over 500 containers have been queued up waiting clearance since Friday

By Kurulu Koojana Kariyakarawana

Over 500 containers were queuing up in Colombo Port as Sri Lanka Customs resorted to work-to-rule trade union action in response to a decision taken by the Treasury to take over the controls of Rs.7 billion reward fund under the Ministry of Finance.

Customs decided not to work extra hours after the usual day shift from 8.30 am to 4.45 pm since last Friday when the Treasury informed the Director General of Customs in writing that the rewards fund, which was under the purview of the latter, has been taken under the Ministry of Finance.

According to Customs Trade Unions, the Customs Reward Fund consists of the percentages of earnings from the forfeited goods and contraband that were resold by the Customs, reward money granted for the Customs officials taking part in detections and outside informants as well as the fund for the overtime hours.

A senior Customs official told the Daily Mirror yesterday that a letter undersigned by the Director General of Treasury Operations Department (DG – TOD) sent last Wednesday had triggered the trade union action.
He said over 500 containers had been queued up yesterday morning awaiting clearance as the Customs officers did not finish the usual day’s workload until late hours in the night.

Speculation was rife as certain IMF regulations discouraging the idling of government department funds had resulted in the taking over of the Customs Reward Fund under the Ministry of Finance. But the trade unionists say that the reward fund is not owned by the Treasury.

When contacted, Customs Spokesperson Senior Director Seevali Arukgoda told the Daily Mirror that although the officers will not work after 4.45 pm, the essential services including the Bandaranaike International Airport, clearing of food, medicines and perishable items as well as all exports will continue unhindered.

He said the trade unions have decided to continue the work-to-rule action indefinitely until a solution is meted out from the Ministry of Finance.