(July 22, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Employees of the Hector Kobbekduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute, the premier agrarian research institute of the country, are appealing to the newly appointed Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture Mr. S. Amarasekera to take immediate steps to bring stability to the Institute which has been heavily destabilized over the last three years due to a dispute that had arisen between the administration of the Institute and its staff and employees. The conflict originated following a letter signed by an overwhelming majority of its employees (93) in 2006 May requesting the Director not to hand over his official bungalow located on the premises of the Institute to an outside party. With the developments following this letter the former Director unleashed a witch hunt to punish those who signed the letter, bringing in his associates and former subordinates in the administrative service as ‘investigation officers’ and ‘inquiring officers’ and thus maliciously framing frivolous charges have been conducting “investigations” and “disciplinary inquiries” for over three years now. When four trade union officials signed a letter making certain allegation against the Director, instead of investigating into those allegations, the trade union officials were charged for making those allegations. Thus, one set of staff including two research officers have already been severely punished - one research officer demoted from service by 15 years. Having obtained “confessions” from those who are thus severely punished and promising them to overturn their punishments if they turn crown witnesses, after two and half years since the incident a second inquiry was started against three other senior academics of the Institute.
This long drawn process of ‘investigations’ and ‘inquiries’ that pitted employees of the Institute against each other divided into camps, has created a highly toxic atmosphere within the Institute negatively affecting its capacity to continue to do research.
Now, that the former Director has resigned at the request of Minister of Agriculture Maithripala Sirisena, the employees of the Institute believe it is time to turn a new leaf and create a healthy atmosphere conducive for research within the Institute and thereby appeal to the Chairman to immediately appoint a new Director who can appreciate the efforts of the academic staff of the Institute rather than subjugating them to the administration.
Employees allege that the former Director of the Institute who has stayed on his post for almost four years without proper renewal of the first appointment which was initially mad only for one year, had remained in his post, even after he reached 67, the final maximum age for retirement of public sector employees.
The former Director when he had to resign had commented that even if he had to resign the Board of Governors will ensure that the “inquiry” he began will continue. It is said that he is also hoping that he will soon return to the Director post with the blessings of someone higher in authority above Minister Maithripala Sirisena. It is said that with a view to ensure the continuation of the “inquiry” even after his departure, the former Director has been trying to influence the Board of Governors by giving a misleading interpretation to a Supreme Court Judgment issued on a related case filed by some employees of the Institute.
 Employees of the Hector Kobbekduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute, the premier agrarian re...){kind=link}
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