The Ceylon Hotels Corporation Act, which was incorporated in 1966, was repealed by Parliament yesterday, amidst JVP protests that the government was veering away from the ‘Mahinda Chinthana’ policies and engaging in privatisation.

The JVP called for a division in the House to pass the legislation, which allows for a private company to take over the functions of the Ceylon Hotels Corporation (CHC) through the sale of its shares in the open market.

The company taking over the corporation would be known as ‘Ceylon Hotels Corporation Limited’.

The Bill was passed by a majority of 47 votes to 30, with all JVP members voting against it and government members supporting it. The UNP and TNA abstained from the vote.

The UNP said it had no problem with the legislation as all CHC trade unions had agreed to the proposals.

Tourism Minister Milinda Moragoda said 10 percent of CHC shares sold by the Bank of Ceylon would be distributed among the employees – a clause which all trade unions had agreed to. He added that the major shareholder had agreed to offer voluntary retirement, or the ‘golden handshake’, to employees who wish to leave the CHC prematurely.

However answering a query from JVP MP Wasantha Samarasinghe, Minister Moragoda said he was unable to give a word as to what exactly the government intended doing with the remaining CHC shares.

The Minister said he did not want to be drawn into a debate about whether the process was privatization or not. “My duty is to ensure that the employees are not victimized in the course” he said adding that one of the basic principles of the open economy is to fulfil pledges made to investors to build confidence.