In the wake of train operations being disrupted due to the retirement of about 500 employees of the Department of Railways on 31 December 2022 as per the new retirement policy introduced by the Government, the Ministry of Transport stated that it is looking to recruit 3,000 new employees. 

Speaking to the media, Transport and Highways Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardana said: “A total of 3,000 new employees are being recruited to the department. Recruitments have not been done in a long time. There is no way to make recruitments and pay salaries. Therefore, 3,000 of those who have already been recruited to the public service under the programme to recruit 100,000 youths from low-income families to the public service will be recruited to the department. Interviews are being conducted these days, and locomotive drivers will also be recruited in the future.”

More than 300 trains have been cancelled since 31 December 2022 to date due to the shortage of employees, which has arisen as a result of the retirement of about 500 employees of the Department on 31 December 2022. Railways General Manager W.A.D. Gunasinghe told The Morning recently that the department had been informing the relevant authorities of the possible consequences of a large number of retirements, but that the authorities had failed to take the necessary steps to prevent such a situation from arising.

Meanwhile, Dr. Gunawardana stated in Parliament recently that out of the Rs. 2.6 billion income received by the department in 2021, Rs. 2.3 billion had been spent on overtime payments to the department’s employees. He also said that the total amount spent in that year for the payment of employee salaries was Rs. 7 billion, and added that since it was not possible to run the department in that manner, it was decided to increase train fares.