Railway trade union action within the next 24 hours: Station Masters warn

Colombo, May 16 (Daily Mirror) - The Sri Lanka Railway Station Masters’ Union announced today that it will commence immediate trade union action within the next 24 hours, citing the government’s continued failure to address several longstanding issues.

Union Chairman Sumedha Somaratne told reporters that, historically, successive governments have only responded to the union's demands through strike action. He noted that despite allowing the current administration a reasonable period of time, including time following three elections, no meaningful steps have been taken to resolve their concerns.

Somaratne added that although the President has instructed trade unions to refrain from making demands at this time, critical matters such as the normalisation of promotions and recruitment processes, which he stressed would not impose an additional burden on the government, remain unaddressed. 

The union also highlighted the continued denial of foreign training opportunities for its members.

The Chairman further expressed disappointment that the Minister responsible has yet to engage in discussions with the union, while interventions made by the Deputy Minister have so far yielded no tangible results.

As a result, Somaratne confirmed that the union will proceed with immediate trade union action within the next 24 hours or shortly thereafter. 

He concluded by expressing regret for any inconvenience that may be caused to the public as a result of the impending trade union action.