SriLankan Agreement with largest employee union

AGReEMENT: SriLankan Airlines has signed a 3-year Collective Agreement with its largest employee union, the Sri Lanka Nidahas Sevaka Sangamaya, whose membership include the majority of the airline's 5,500 employees.

"We expect the members of the SLNSS to focus on improving thier productivity, which together with improved business processes, will compensate for the increase in employee costs driven by this agreement and enable the company to remain profitable during these difficult times,' said Vipula Gunatilleke, Chief Financial Officer.

The airline already has similar Collective Agreements with all of its other unions, including the Pilots Guild of Sri Lanka, the Flight Attendants Union, the Association of Licensed Aircraft Engineers, the SriLankan Airlines Aircraft Technicians Association, the Manual & Mercantile Workers Union in Singapore, and the Foreign Airlines Employees Union Peninsular Malaysia.

Sunil Dissanayake, Head of Human Resources said: "This Collective Agreement will certainly serve to enhance the relationship between the management and staff of the company.

Negotiations were carried out in a very cordial and conducive atmosphere with the negotiating team of SLNSS, displaying professionalism and maturity."

The agreement covers salary scales, benefits, incentives, and other aspects of staff in non-executive grades.

"We encourage other companies also to have collective agreements which are long-lasting and sustainable. These will provide industrial peace and allow companies greater stability for financial planning. The government should inculcate this culture across all industries," said General Secretary SLNSS Lesley Devendra.

The agreement was signed on behalf of the airline recently in Katunayake by Chief Financial Officer (representing the CEO) Vipula Gunatilleke, Head of Human Resources Sunil Dissanayake and Manager Human Resources Ali Kamil.

The SLNSS was represented by General Secretary SLNSS Lesley Devendra, General Secretary SLNSS SriLankan Branch Jeyeraj Palihawadana and Chief Organiser SLNSS SriLankan Branch K. A. W. Fernando.

This is the third Collective Agreement that SriLankan has been involved in with its largest employee union continuously since 1996.