CEB unions to continue strike
A section of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) employees said yesterday they were determined to continue with the ongoing strike until their demands were granted.
The CEB United Trade Union Front (UTUF) said the management had insisted on negotiating a settlement with the unions but they were undecided on this matter. A union spokesman said the workers were willing to return to work if the authorities granted their demands.
“Some CEB officials have threatened to take legal action against us over unwarranted matters and have even threatened to sack certain union activists from the CEB but we will continue our strike until we are treated with respect and dignity and are provided with the salaries that are owed to us,” the spokesman said.
The UTUF and the CEB Technical Services Joint Trade Union Front (TSJTUF) said their members were promised a significant salary increase of up to 38.7 per cent but they said it was only applicable to CEB executive staff.
Some of their main demands are the non-privatisation of CEB customer service centres and the dismantling of
We are struggling to survive and are severely affected by the soaring cost of living like everyone else. We are asking for these things because otherwise we won’t be able to sustain ourselves
the suppressive administrative structure, which the spokesman said had taken a toll on employees.
“We are struggling to survive and are severely affected by the soaring cost of living like everyone else. We are asking for these things because otherwise we won’t be able to sustain ourselves,” he said.
Meanwhile the National Movement of Electricity Consumers (NMEC), which was formed last year, said it had recently urged Power and Energy Minister Champika Ranawaka to declare electricity as an essential service through a gazette notification and thus prevent CEB unions resorting to strike action. NMEC President Sunil Wimalasooriya said the strike would greatly inconvenience consumers and it violated the terms of the Consumer Act which stipulated that the consumer or buyer should be guaranteed satisfactory and uninterrupted service.