Postal workers stamp their protest with threat of indefinite strike
Postmaster General Rohana Abeyaratne assured that the backlog caused by the two-day strike would be cleared and won't affect Christmas mail
With the prospect of an indefinite island-wide postal strike looming in the first week of January, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed officials to hold urgent talks with postal trade unions in an attempt to resolve longstanding issues faced by postal workers. The move comes after the 48-hour token strike launched by trade unions this week paralysed postal activities throughout the country.
Post, Postal Services Minister, Abdul Haleem told the Sunday Times that Prime Minister Wickremesinghe has instructed his Secretary to meet with trade union representatives and relevant stage agency officials to discuss solutions to the problems faced by postal workers. Minister Haleem acknowledged that the main demands were not unreasonable. While some longstanding issues have already been resolved since he took office as Minister, he stated the remaining demands were not something that his Ministry alone could fulfil. “This requires cooperation by agencies such as the Public Service Commission and the Wages Board,” he added, lamenting that a solution was difficult to reach without agreement among these agencies.
The main demand of the striking postal workers stemmed from issues created within the Postal Department due to Government Services Circular 6/2006. The 10-year-old circular, according to trade unions, has created salary anomalies and adversely affected the department’s scheme of recruitment, they allege. Unions have now given the Government two weeks to put forward a solution, failing which they would launch an indefinite strike.
For example, 1484 workers who had been recruited for one Grade of the postal service were receiving a salary that was over Rs.1600 less than others who were doing the same job, stated S.M. Kariyawasam, Co-Convener of the United Postal Trade Union Front (UPTUF), outlining one of the main issues caused by the circular. To compound matters, the circular has mandated that these officers serve in this particular grade for 10 years before being eligible for promotion. “This is grossly unfair. Under the current organisational structure, the highest position they can reach, after moving up six grades, is Deputy Post Master General. If they are to spend 10 years in one post, they would never be able to reach that position before retirement,” he pointed out.
Mr. Kariyawasam, who was one of the main organisers of this week’s strike, stated the circular covered all state sectors. Those who drafted the circular however, had failed to take into account the uniqueness of departments such as the Department of Railways and Department of Posts. The structure of these departments are different from other government departments, meaning what could be uniformly applied to most departments would not necessarily be appropriate for them, he argued.
Over 600 main post offices throughout the country were shut during the strike on December 20 and 21. For the first time ever, about 3500 sub post offices, including those in the north and east, were also closed, trade unions said. Most of the postal department’s workforce of 20, 000 employees took part in the trade union action, in defiance of an order issued on the eve of the strike which cancelled all leave for Sri Lanka Post employees.
Postmaster General Rohana Abeyaratne said the strike completely paralysed postal services throughout the country. It would take several days to effectively clear the backlog of letters and parcels that had piled up as a result of the strike, he conceded.
About 1.5 million letters and parcels had been piled up at various post offices around the country during to the twoday strike, according to postal trade unions. Postal workers said they were working round the clock to clear the backlog by Christmas. “We know we have a responsibility to the public and we will definitely clear the backlog and ensure that all letters and parcels are delivered by Christmas, Mr. Kariyawasam told the Sunday Times earlier in the week.