Blackout threat looms as CEB Engineers threaten trade union action

Colombo, Feb. 10 (Daily Mirror) - Sri Lanka could be plunged into darkness as power engineers prepare to strike in protest of the government’s plan to dismantle the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).

The Technical Engineers and Superintendents Association has warned that once the gazette establishing six new subsidiary companies is issued, industrial action could bring the nation’s main power grids to a standstill.

Its Vice President Nandana Udayakumara told the Daily Mirror that the association is ready to launch an islandwide strike immediately after the gazette, reportedly set for release on February 27. “We do not care about the date,” Udayakumara said. “If the government proceeds without meeting our eight demands, we will take action that could leave the country in darkness.”

The association, alongside 24 other electricity trade unions including the Engineers’ Association, Technical Engineers and Officers’ Association, and Industrial Technicians’ Association, warned that no maintenance or repairs would be carried out during the strike. Authorities may even be forced to switch off main grids for safety.

The government’s restructuring plan, which has Cabinet approval pending, proposes to split the CEB into six subsidiaries, redistributing assets, liabilities, and operations. While officials insist the move will improve efficiency, unions argue it jeopardises job security, benefits, and operational transparency.

With tensions mounting, Sri Lanka faces the prospect of an unprecedented energy crisis unless both sides can find common ground before the lights go out.

The eight demands requested by the CEB Technical Engineers are as follows:

1.  All CEB employee privileges (financial and non-financial) must be confirmed through a collective agreement with trade unions before gazette publication.
2.  No existing employee benefits, monetary or non-monetary, should be reduced or removed before 26.02.2026, confirmed via the collective agreement.
3.  All company assets must be properly audited, documented, and handed over to prevent national resource loss before the appointed date.
4.  Employee-related documents like the Handbook and Preliminary Transfer Plan should be prepared with full employee participation to protect their interests. Legal obstacles regarding EPF and pension funds must be resolved to ensure fund security, and employee representatives should be appointed to the company’s board with their consent, with this mechanism included in the collective agreement.
5.  CEB employees’ long-standing salary discrepancies have been corrected, and a temporary Rs. 10,000 allowance should be added to their basic salary as of 31.12.2023. Past salary revisions in 2024 distorted committee recommendations, and employees lost expected annual increases due to restructuring. A fair salary increase, reflecting both base salary and the previously negotiated cost-of-living allowance, should be implemented before the due date.
6.  A formal mechanism should be established to resolve unresolved employee and organisational issues (promotions, grievances, transfers, disciplinary matters).
7.  Employees who applied for the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) should receive their suspended general benefits.
8.  The due date should not be announced until a practical mechanism is developed to handle challenges from restructuring or future crises.