Daily Mirror: Sri Lanka: Friday, July 20, 2018.
Following an
order from the Right to Information Commission (RTIC) during the hearing of the
RTI appeal filed by the Airline Pilots’ Guild of Sri Lanka (APGSL), SriLankan
Airlines disclosed its top management’s salaries and the cost of personal
flying training, borne by the company for its former CEO Suren Ratwatte.
RTIC Chaired
by Mahinda Gammanpila on June 12 ruled that the SriLankan should divulge
information connected to the top management’s salaries and the cost of flying
training met by the company on behalf of its former CEO.
Accordingly,
the monthly basic salary of the SriLankan CEO is LKR 3, 270,000 excluding other
benefits.
Additional
benefits enjoyed by the CEO include company maintained vehicle and driver,
actual fuel cost, reimbursement of one annual club membership, same of one
annual job related professional membership, Medi-call system with an annual
limit of LKR 5000 for himself and per family member and staff travel benefits.
The cost of
personal flying training for the A320 jet conversion borne by the company on
behalf of its former CEO Suren Ratwatte is in total LKR 3,700,000 for a 14 days
training (1st Phase - Ground School - LKR (350,000) and a 12 days training (2nd
Phase - Simulator – LKR 3,400,000).
The Chief
Commercial Officer (CCO) of the SriLankan receives a basic salary of LKR 1,
900,000 per month and an allowance of LKR 250,000 for furnished accommodation
per month.
The CCO of
the Sri Lankan is also entitled to the same additional benefits enjoyed by the
CEO.
Meanwhile,
the monthly basic salary of the Head of Human Resources (HHR) of the SriLankan
Airlines is LKR 990,000 with two additional allowances of LKR 12,000 and LKR
3,500 as ‘Entertainment Allowance’ and Telephone Allowance respectively.
The HHR is
also entitled with fuel allocation of 340 litres of petrol per month by the
company, company maintained vehicle and driver, reimbursement of one annual
club membership, same of one annual job related professional membership,
medi-call system with an annual limit of LKR 5000 for himself and per family
member and staff travel benefits.
The RTI
application was first filed to the SriLankan under the RTI Act in June 2017 by
the Airline Pilots’ Guild of Sri Lanka (APGSL).
The
Information Officer of the SriLankan rejected the application.
Then, the
APGSL appealed for the Designated Officer of the SriLankan, where the request
was again rejected, making the appellant to finally make an appeal before the
RTI Commission.
During the
hearing of the appeal, SriLankan’s preliminary objection was that it was not a
company under the Companies Act No. 7 of 2007 and, therefore, not a public
authority as defined in the RTI Act.
However, the
SriLankan failed to prove its the preliminary objection before the RTI
Commission, which made it to release the information to the public domain.
Captain Ruwan
Vithanage, Captain Malik Latheef and S.M. Kankanamge from the APGSL represented
as the appellant party.
Head of
Group, Legal, Sri Lankan Airlines M.A. Ranasinghe and Manager of Group Legal
Affairs, Sri Lankan Airlines Shiyara Sellamuttu represented the public
authority.
The
Information Officer of the SriLankan Airlines rejected the application.
Then, the
APGSL appealed for the Designated Officer of the SriLankan Airlines, where the
request was again rejected, making the appellant to finally make an appeal
before the RTI Commission.
During the
hearing of the appeal, SriLankan’s Airlines preliminary objection was that it
was not a company under the Companies Act No. 7 of 2007 and, therefore, not a
public authority as defined in the RTI Act.
However, the
Airlines failed to prove its the preliminary objection before the RTI
Commission, which made it to release the information to the public domain.
Counsels
Nalin Laduwahetty PC, Hafeel Farisz, Shamir Zawahir and Tharindi Wijeyapura
represented on behalf of the appellant party. (Piyumi Fonseka)
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