In the wake of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) trade unions (TUs) demanding the reinstatement of suspended CEB workers, the CEB said that any possible reinstatement will be done only according to the standard procedures, and not because of trade union pressure.
The CEB Workers’ Union (CEBWU) launched a protest in front of the CEB head office on Wednesday (7), demanding the reinstatement of the CEB workers who were suspended for disrupting the services during a recent three-day protest.
Subsequently, the CEB spokesperson and Deputy General Manager, engineer Noel Priyantha yesterday (08) told The Daily Morning that the CEB will follow the standard procedures for the reinstatement of suspended CEB workers and trade unionists. He also noted that the CEB would take the grievances aired and excuses made by the suspended workers into consideration and would take steps to reinstate them on the existing grounds and possibilities. “We suspended those workers according to the situation that prevailed on the particular days of the strike. Now, we are looking into the excuses, grievances, and other factors. We follow the standard procedures when reinstating them, and they cannot be affected because of any trade union pressure,” he added.
Meanwhile, speaking to the media during the protest held on Wednesday, the CEBWU General Secretary Ranjan Jayalal urged the Government to reinstate the suspended workers immediately in their respective positions in the weeks to come; otherwise, all trade unions that support the CEB trade unions will take joint trade union action in the near future.
On 15 January, the CEB suspended 15 clerical staff members in charge of cash counters for inconveniencing customers who had come to pay their bills by closing the windows of the counters and refraining from accepting payments. On 20 January, 51 more employees of the CEB were interdicted for obstructing services by refusing to accept bill payments from consumers during their three-day protest staged against the proposed restructuring of the State owned electricity supplier, thereby bringing the total of interdicted employees to 66. Trade union members attached to the CEB engaged in a series of protests from 03-05 January, challenging the Government’s attempts to restructure the Board and pass the new Electricity Bill. Before the trade union action, the CEB management had cancelled the leave of all employees with effect from 2 January, unless due to an urgent matter.