SLRC TUs complain over non-payment of EPF for 13 months
07 trade unions of the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) have lodged a complaint with the Commissioner General of Labour, alleging that the corporation has failed to remit Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) contributions for 13 months.
The complaint has also been copied to the Presidential Secretary, Minister of Health and Mass Media, Minister of Labour, Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Media, and the Director General of SLRC.
According to the unions, EPF payments for the following months are not paid :
- 2023 : August, September, October, November
- 2024 :January, February, March, May
- 2025 : March, May, June, July, August
Reports indicate that current SLRC Chairman – Gihan de Silva, appointed in Dec. 2024 under the National People’s Power (NPP) administration, has failed to make EPF payments for 05 of the 11 months of his tenure so far.
About 600 employees currently work at the SLRC, and it is also singular that the arrears remain in a backdrop where the employee contribution is continued to be deducted from their salaries.
It is also singular that the EPF payments were made during the tenure of former Chairman – Senesh Bandara Dissanayake, who served in the post from Sep. – Dec. 2024.
YouTube revenue also in decline
Meanwhile, according to internal sources, the SLRC’s YouTube revenue has also dropped below USD 20,000 since the current chairman assumed duties.
With a monthly salary bill of around Rs.90 million, the corporation now relies mainly on income from Clean Sri Lanka promotional programmes and Development Lottery draws to meet the required mark.
Previously, SLRC’s YouTube operations were managed by an independent consortium. However, under the current administration, the contract has reportedly been handed over to a company that also handles the digital management of a YouTube channel of another private TV channel.
During the tenure of former President – Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the previous company was removed from handling SLRC’s digital operations following a court ruling citing conflicts of interest and irregularities.
Subsequently, after obtaining court approval, digital management was reassigned back to the original company, during which the SLRC’s monthly YouTube earnings had exceeded USD 50,000, sources say.
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