• Calls on CEB to distribute bonus equally among all staff
• Jayalal says workers didn’t get bonus in 2022 and 2023

The Ceylon Electricity Board Workers’ Union (CEBWU) have requested the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to distribute annual bonuses equally among all 23,000 employees, based on the actual income/profit status rather than the previous systems.

It was recently reported that the CEBWU had called on the CEB management to distribute bonuses among employees before 10 December.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, CEBWU General Secretary Ranjan Jayalal said that this year they did not request higher bonus amounts as in previous years. “In the past, bonus amounts varied by employee category, with some receiving over Rs. 500,000. We are not asking for such large sums this time. Instead, we are requesting a uniform bonus amount for all employee categories. If it is only Rs. 10,000 that can be paid, pay that sum to all,” he said.

Noting that the CEB had made profits in the recent past, he said that a part of it should be passed on to the consumer and the rest to the employees. “We did not receive bonuses last year (2023), and the year before (2022), but we did not keep the people in the dark. With or without bonuses, we worked and we will continue to work. However, there should be some support for us as employees. If we fulfil our responsibility, we should receive fair benefits.”

Attempts to contact CEB General Manager Dr. Tilak Siyambalapitiya regarding the CEB’s plan to provide a bonus, proved futile.