Katunayake Airport workers call off strike

Employees of the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake (BIA), who were on strike over wage demands, have decided to call of their trade union action following discussions with relevant authorities.

Representatives of Airport & Aviation Services in Sri Lanka (AASL) trade unions engaged in the strike action participated in a discussion today (3) with relevant officials including Deputy Minister of Finance Lasantha Alagiyawanna and Deputy Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Asoka Ashok Abeysinghe.

The trade unions decided to end the strike after authorities agreed to their demands of a wage hike by Rs 10,000. However, in return the workers have reportedly been asked to provide letters of assurance with regard to profitably maintaining operations of the airport.  

A large number of employees launched a strike and staged a protest outside the airport from this morning demanding that airport authorities increase their wages by a minimum of Rs 10,000.

They had also proceeded to block the entrance to the airport and also protested inside the international airport.