Employees of Govt. Printing Department on strike

Employees of the Government Printing Department have resorted to a work stoppage from 12.00 noon today to 6.00 p.m. tomorrow thereby delaying the printing of gazettes, hansards, order papers and other documents.

However, the Government Printing Department Trade Union Federation (GPDTUF) said the strike was launched demanding solutions to several issues faced by them.

GPDTUF Convener Sarath Lal Perera told Daily Mirror that the government had paid staff members Rs.100,000 each as compensation for political victimization.

On a different note, Mr. Perera said the government had given 90 per cent of the printing of school textbooks to the private sector, thus incurring heavy losses to the Government Printing Department.

“Although the department earns over Rs.400 million per annum, only a handful of officials are entitled to a monthly bonus,” he said.

However, the employees of UNP-backed trade unions have not declared their support to the ongoing strike. The trade unions have informed of their demands to the relevant authorities, but had not received a positive response.

It was learnt that the department consists of some 1,200 employees. (Thilanka Kanakarathna)