Joint railway trade unions have confirmed that their planned two-day token strike on Sept. 17 and 18 will go ahead as scheduled, saying the government has yet to make a firm decision on the current General Manager of Railways.
Joint railway trade union co-convener Kasun Chamara Jayasekara announced the decision on Monday (14).
A special discussion on the proposed strike was held today at the Ministry of Transport between the ministry secretary and leaders of the joint railway trade unions.
During the meeting, trade union representatives raised administrative and operational issues within the Railway Department, as well as service disruptions faced by passengers.
The unions stressed that their confidence in the current General Manager of Railways had completely eroded and called for his immediate removal.
They said the sole objective of the trade union action was to rebuild the Railway Department, establish an efficient service and provide a better service to passengers.
The Transport Ministry secretary acknowledged that rebuilding the Railway Department was the genuine objective of the unions and said issuing a letter seeking an explanation from the secretary of the Railway Station Masters’ Association was not the correct course of action.
However, the ministry secretary said he needed further time to make a final decision on the removal of the current General Manager of Railways.
The unions rejected the request, saying no further time could be granted over an issue that had continued for nearly two years.
The discussion concluded without an agreement to suspend or cancel the strike, and the joint railway trade unions said the planned trade union action would proceed on Sept. 17 and 18. (Newswire)