Railway station masters call off trade union action
December 28, 2021 06:33 pm
Sri Lanka Railway Station Masters’ Union has decided to call off their trade union action following a discussion with State Minister of Transport Dilum Amunugama today (December 28).
Speaking to the media, the union’s chairman Sumedha Somarathna said favourable responses were received for 10 of their demands.
Accordingly, the station masters are expected to resume their duties as per usual from tomorrow and recommence issuing train tickets. However, not all trains would be up and running tomorrow, Somarathna added.
Earlier today, the station masters warned that they would resort to an uninterrupted strike action if the authorities fail to meet their demands.
The railway station masters launched a union action last week, based on multiple demands including the granting of coverage allowances if promotions cannot be given and the calculation of overtime for them under the same system used to calculate overtime for engine drivers.
Accordingly, they refrained from transporting and accepting parcels and issuing tickets.
Yesterday, the union it would carry on their trade union action as discussions held last morning with the General Manager of Railways were unsuccessful.
Later, they also announced their withdrawal from duties related to the transport of fuel, cement and flour. The association said they decided to abstain from these duties as a protest against the action of the Railways General Manager.
