1 November 2018 06:30 pm
Speaking to the media Railway Trade Union Alliance (RTUA) Co-Convener Lal Ariyaratne said the trade unions including Sri Lanka Railway Station Masters' Union, Ceylon Railway Guards Union, Railway Engine Drivers Union and Train Controllers' Union would support the trade union action.
The Trade Unions had informed the matter to the Railways’ General Manager and he had assured legal action against the individuals who were involved in incident within 24-hours.
“We will start our strike after another 24 hours,” he said.
The trade union alliance vowed trade union action if the authorities failed to take legal action over the suspects.
Mr Ariyaratne said that all train services on the northern railway line beyond Polgahawela, including the office and the night mail trains, would be suspended as a result of scheduled trade union action.
He requested the Police to investigate the matter based on the video footages taken by the Police officers during the incident.
He also added that during the trade union action the security of the employees and the railway properties should be protected by the law enforcement authorities and in case of any damage to the properties or employees’ lives it would lead into an islandwide trade union action.
A group of commuters disrupted the railway services near the Pothuhera railway station last night.
The commuters threatened the locomotive driver and guard of the Fort bound KKS –Colombo Intercity Express to slow down and allow the Colombo-Kurunegala slow train at Pothuhera Railway Station.
A tense situation occurred after the commuters threatened the express train driver and the guard to drive back the train until the slow train passed. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)