Railway workers’ strike; thousands left stranded

Thousands of people were left stranded due to a sudden strike action launched by the trade unions yesterday.

A senior official of the Railways Department said that a discussion was held between the Railways General Manager (GMR) and the Transport Minister.

He stated that the trade union demands would have be met with the intervention of the Ministry.

Another discussion is to be held today at the Ministry.

Ministry officials said train services had not operated for months during the COVID pandemic, but despite this the government paid their monthly salaries, even while staff stayed at home.

Therefore, it is illegal to hold such train strikes as soon as the train services have resumed. People are currently burdened by the current economic situation, government officials said.

Employees in the Railways department, as well as those who have participated in the trade union action, are paid significantly more than other state employees.

As a result, launching strikes while causing inconvenience to the public is not acceptable, Ministry officials said.

Meanwhile, the Locomotive Engine Operators' Union (LEOU) said that their discussions with the Transport Minister had been successful and they had decided to call off their strike temporarily yesterday. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)