Electricity trade unions have decided to suspend their strike action, which was launched over the abolishment of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and the establishment of 06 new companies, following the restructuring process.
According to reports, the trade union action was suspended following discussions held with officials of the Ministry of Labour today.
The electricity trade unions have assured that the disrupted electricity supply will be restored as soon as possible.
The trade union action was launched, accusing the authorities of failing to address their demands related to the CEB’s restructuring process.
Earlier today (11), commenting on the Trade Union action, Nusith Kumaratunga, Chairman of the National Transmission Network Service Provider (Pvt) Ltd, said trade unions engaged in strike action in the electricity sector are demanding a 40% salary increase, but if that demand is granted, electricity bills may have to be increased by 100%.
Addressing a media briefing held by the management of affiliated supply companies, he said that the unions had made 64 demands, of which 62 were agreed upon, while for the remaining two issues, the President had given them the opportunity to discuss further.
Most of the 64 demands were requests for benefits already available to the Ceylon Electricity Board, and the Board of Directors had agreed to provide 59 of them at the initial discussion.
Accordingly, five issues remained, and the unions were informed that decisions would be taken after discussions with the Minister.
The unions had also requested that allowances be given in the same way as by the Ceylon Electricity Board, and until a performance system is introduced, this was agreed to.
He further said that an allowance of Rs. 11,000 plus a cost-of-living allowance amounting to about Rs. 17,000 in total was agreed to be given, adding that all demands that could be agreed upon at the ministerial level had been accepted.
However, while demanding a 40% salary increase, they also requested that the Rs. 11,000 allowance be added to the basic salary. The Director stated that under the law of the country, the cost of living allowance cannot be added to the basic salary.
Although this basis was explained, they did not listen, he said.
He further stated that as a government, it is not possible to think only about the 23,000 employees of the Electricity Board, as that would be unfair to other government employees.
A 40% increase would mean Rs. 1.8 billion per month, Rs. 22 billion per year, and by December 31, 2025, the private account loss of the Ceylon Electricity Board alone would be Rs. 35 billion, he said.
NTNSP Chairman Nusith Kumaratunga further said:
“We said, give us a small grace period. These cannot be done all at once. There is a Middle East war. There was also a 25% salary anomaly. That means from August 2024, there was a 25% salary anomaly. All executive‑level officers received that. It was done like this: all who had decision‑making power got 25%. Lower‑level employees who could not participate in decisions got 7%, 8%, 10%, etc. That mistake was corrected on January 1, 2025. So, higher officers got nothing further. The 25% was finished. Now they are saying to change the Cabinet decision and give 25% to everyone from January 1, 2024. Then I said Cabinet decisions cannot be changed by me or the Directors. That must be discussed with the President. That opportunity has also been given. So all demands are complete. Now we cannot understand with what purpose these union actions are being carried forward,” he said. (Newswire)
