VIDEO: Railway trade unions refuse talks; strike to continue as planned
July 8, 2013 03:08 pm
Railway
Trade Unions refused to accept an invitation from authorities to hold talks and
instead decided to continue its strike action.
Convener
of the Joint Trade Union Alliance for Railway Employees, Janaka Fernando stated that
the union decided to take this decision as the President’s Secretary had
requested them to halt their strike action and enter into discussions with the
authorities this evening.
The trade unions have
warned that they will continue the strike which resulted in many commuters
being stranded this morning.
Railway Professional Trade Unions decided to launch a 48 hour strike from midnight July 07, based on several demands including a wage hike.
A total of 11
trade unions attached to the Railways Professional Trade Union Alliance are
reported to be involved in the strike action.
Discussion held
with relevant authorities for over 3 hours were futile as it failed to provide
solutions to their grievances, said the convener of the Joint Trade Union
Alliance (JTUA) of railway employees, Janaka Fernando.