Following a decision by the Government to take stern action against the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) employees that staged a protest last week against the recently gazetted Electricity Bill and the restructuring of the CEB, CEB trade unions remain determined to resist disciplinary action that they think are unjust and to respond only to proper, lawful disciplinary actions.
This was emphasised by CEB Workers’ Union (CEBWU) General Secretary Ranjan Jayalal, who added that the CEB trade unions are even ready to seek legal assistance regarding the same. He revealed to The Daily Morning that the employees that took part in the said protest have been informed through a common notification to provide an explanation as to why they applied for leave on 3, 4 and 5 January, 2024, the three days on which the said protest was held, and that in the event of the failure to respond to that notification, action will be taken considering the failure to respond as an offence. Adding that this notification is a common one, he said that an institution should provide such notifications to each employee individually, which he claimed is the proper way of initiating such action.
“We have arrived at a decision to not respond to the said notification until such letters are sent to each employee individually. We will wait, since this is an illegal move. We are taking steps to seek the Judiciary’s assistance in this regard,” he said. In addition, Jayalal expressed disapproval of the authorities’ attempts to enact the above-mentioned Bill, adding that certain steps, including the appointment of an outsider to the CEB General Manager post, have already been taken in a bid to create an environment to enact the Bill.
He warned that the enactment of the Bill would be disastrous to the CEB, and claimed that even the CEB management shares the same sentiment. He added that the CEB trade unions are waiting until the Bill is tabled in the Parliament in order to seek the judiciary’s assistance against it.
Attempts to obtain the Power and Energy Ministry’s response with regard to the CEB trade unions’ concerns were not successful.
The CEB trade unions’ three-day protest and the resultant disciplinary action came in the backdrop of the gazetting of the draft Bill in December, 2023. The Bill aims to reform the country’s electricity sector, and will repeal the CEB Act, No. 17 of 1969, and the Sri Lanka Electricity Act, No. 20 of 2009, among other changes. Although the CEB management responded to the protest by issuing a circular that cancelled the leave of all CEB employees with effect from 02 January until further notice, the trade unions proceeded with the protest by taking medical leave. Court orders were also issued concerning the limitations within which these protests could be held.