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Commuters once again derailed by rail strike
Long distance train travellers hit this time: Trains stationary at the Aluthgama station. Pix by Sarath Siriwardana
Tens of thousands of railway commuters were once again inconvenienced, within the space of one week, due to another crippling strike by locomotive operators, railway guards, controllers, station masters, and supervising managers.
This time, the strike action from Thursday midnight to Friday midnight, targetted long distance travellers – those commuters whose homes are in distant areas and who wait to travel home after a five-day working week in the city.
Speaking to the Sunday Times on Friday, Locomotive Operating Engineers Union (LOEU) Secretary Indika Dodanwala said that since their demands were not met even after last week’s strike, they went on strike again on Thursday. He warned that if their members come under any threat, attack or were arrested, they would not hesitate to launch indefinite strikes in the future. He maintained that the CID cannot take action against them as they did not disrupt any contingency plans by the Railways Department.
“We removed ourselves from operating engines, but we allowed the Railways authorities to operate engines and carry out their tasks,” he said, however adding that they would take legal action if the authorities appoint unfit retired officers to manage railway activities.
He said that the committee appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena had approved an increase in salaries according to the grades, but the government had failed to implement it as yet.
Meanwhile, the leader of another union that did not participate in the strike said that the government had to take full responsibility for strikes, as the salary issue has dragged on for more than one and a half years without any solution in sight.
The All Ceylon Railways Union President, S P Vithanage said they were not asked to join the strike as their union was not affected by the grading issues.
“The government is accountable for what is happening. The unions will fight for their rights, but the government should either provide a solution or be firm and say they will not give in to the demands,” he said.
He said when the government keeps postponing finding a solution, the unions will keep on pressuring, and eventually, it’s the commuters who suffer.
Meanwhile Railways General Manager Dilantha Fernando said he had lodged a complaint with the Fort police against the unions as they had gone ahead with the strike in spite of the gazette issued by the President declaring railway services an essential service.
He said, despite the strike, they were able to run 25 trains and were able to provide a better service this time compared to the situation that arose during last week’s 48-hour strike.
He said commuters should not be held to ransom by the unionists.
“The Transport Minister, Deputy Minister and I all agree with the unionists’ demands. We, too, have called on the Finance Minister to resolve the grades issues and end the salary anomalies,” he said. However, he pointed out that since the President had declared railway services an essential service, they were forced to take legal action against those who had disrupted railway services.
Mr Fernando said the unions, too, need to be fair by the people and stop union action as the Finance Minister had given an assurance that he would resolve their demands if they give him one and a half months.
“The unions should also understand that if their salaries are increased immediately other sectors would also be affected, resulting in other salary anomalies. Therefore they need to give the government more time to increase their salaries without creating more trouble,” he pointed out.
Meanwhile, Transport Minister Arjuna Ranatunga said that he believes that the railway employees have problems and, therefore, he too agrees with the unionists that their issues should be resolved.
“ In order to resolve any issue the government needs time, because the demands they are seeking need to be provided without obstruction to the people,” he told Parliament on Friday.
Adding that he did not condone unionists holding commuters to ransom, he said, “ I am open to discussions as long as they stop their strike actions.”
He also pointed out that, if the salaries of railway employees are suddenly increased according to grades, another 518,720 government employees of other sectors would also get affected with another salary anomaly.
He also said he is setting up a unit comprising engine drivers, guards and station masters to work during such situations. The unit would then be able to provide services to the inconvenienced people.
“I was contacted by some countries who said they could assist us by providing people who are capable of providing services. However, we believe that we can manage the situation by deploying retired personnel back into service,” the minister said.
Deputy Minister of Transport Ashok Abeysinghe said that the government was assessing the situation and would take necessary action if the trade unions continue to carry out strikes.
He said they would take strict action, including legal action, against railways employees who disrupt and sabotage services, as the President had gazetted the railway services as an essential service.
Addressing Parliament, he said that some engine drivers earn more than Rs 300,000 from their salary and overtime work, while some guards earn more than Rs 245,000 and station masters draw a salary of Rs 200,000.
He also pointed out that some engine driversdon’t sign off and earn overtime without doing any work.
The Deputy Minister also said that the Transport Minister, Finance Minister and the Prime Minister’s secretary had, last week, held a meeting with the unions. At the meeting the Finance Minister had also requested a month’s time to provide a solution to the salary issue.