The Hon. Mahinda Jayasinghe - Deputy Minister of Labour

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, before today’s subject, let me address the matter raised by the Leader of the Opposition this morning regarding the closure of the NEXT factory in the Katunayake Zone. He made many unfounded claims. As Acting Minister of Labour, I engaged immediately. The Commissioner General of Labour and officers met at my Ministry; the factory has four units, employing 2,825 workers. Of these, 1,416 are to lose employment under the company’s notice; 1,409 remain. The facility began in 1979, and workers with service since 1992 are affected. The closure notice was issued last week, but by law the Department of Labour must be notified beforehand; the company only notified yesterday. Since last night our officers have been working on this. Tomorrow we will discuss further with the management, trade unions, and BOI. They have proposed a formula for compensation; we will examine it to find solutions.

¶ 02 When the Opposition governed, many factories closed without such concern. The company cites high production costs but has not discussed remedies with the Government or BOI. We will reopen dialogue with them.

¶ 03 Also, mornings in this House have become extended media shows by the Opposition, stretching Question Time to an hour and a half or more. Seniority in years does not justify wasting the House’s time. We, the new Members, expected to learn from seniors; instead, they should learn from our discipline.

¶ 04 On security, some Members asked for police protection. Our colleague Nihal Galappaththi has served 24 years as an MP without ever taking police security. We do not steal public funds; we do not misuse taxes; the people protect us. Even when we were in Opposition, our leaders like President Anura Dissanayake and Minister Vijitha Herath served decades without police protection and without incident. We pledged not to live above ordinary citizens; we are keeping that in practice.

¶ 05 Do not shed crocodile tears about war heroes. The country that our brave soldiers safeguarded was looted by previous regimes; our duty is to cleanse corruption and build a better future across all provinces. Since 21 September 2024, we are on that path—despite obstacles and falsehoods, we will persist.

¶ 06 Today’s debate concerns instruments under the Finance Acts of 2003 (No. 25) and 2018 (No. 35). Yet the Opposition spoke nothing on them, as they did during the recent Budget debates. When the Digital Ministry’s Head was debated, they talked about everything else. They should at least understand what Parliament is. The people now see that when they tell one lie, there are 159 Members ready to rebut it with facts.

¶ 07 Hon. Presiding Member, I will conclude.