Transport, health, education and port operations will be some of the services affected by a one-day strike on Thursday, organised by JVP and UNP trade unions.
The unions’ demands include, among other things, a monthly salary increase of Rs. 5,000, an allowance of Rs. 2.50 for every point increase in the cost of living (CoL) index, and an immediate cut in train and bus fares.
Participants in the proposed strikes are the National Trade Union Centre (NTUC), with 366 trade unions affiliated with the JVP, and a large number of JSS (Jathika Sevaka Sangamaya) and independent trade unions.
JVP parliamentarian and NTUC chief K. D. Lalkantha told The Sunday Times that 90 percent of the government workforce of 1.1 million would participate in the strike.
“We have conducted a survey of government institutions, corporations, boards and authorities, and we find that 90 percent of the workforce in these sectors will be joining the strike”, Mr. Lalkantha said.
However, Minister of Public Administration and Home Affairs, Karu Jayasuriya, said the government was confident that most of the employees in government services would not get involved in the July 10 strike.
“We have had discussions with a large number of unions, and they have accepted the salary increase the government has offered,” he said. “It will be only a minority of the unions that will go on strike. The strike will not affect us much.”
The minister added that the government had no plans in place to take any counter-action in connection with the Thursday strike.
Meanwhile, All Ceylon Railway Employees General Union (ACREGU) secretary Sumathipala Manawadu said employees of the Railway Department would not be reporting to work on the 10th, and tht this strike action would affect the smooth running of the railway network.
According to Mr. Manawadu, 5,400 of the 17,000 Railway Department employees were official members of the ACREGU. In addition, five other unions had pledged support for the strike. He added that some of the members of government unions would also support the action, which would result in a “complete standstill” of services. The ACREGU has formally informed the Railway Department general manager of the strike.
Trade unions of the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) are also joining in the union action.
All Ceylon Transport Workers Union secretary Sepala Liyanage said the union had conducted awareness programmes for all SLTB employees, including bus drivers and bus conductors.
“The SLTB will stop all services on July 10,” he said. “We have also invited three private bus owners’ associations to join us. The strike will be a success. The majority of buses will not run that day. We do not want just Rs. 625 rupees. We demand the Rs. 5,000 we are entitled to.”
Meanwhile, the public health sector is also involved in the strike.
According to Gamini Kumarasinghe, deputy secretary, All Ceylon Health Services Union, a series of protest campaigns have been conducted by health sector trade unions at main hospitals across the country.
The campaigns began on June 27 and will continue till July 9. The idea is to force the government to resolve union matters before July 10. “We want to ensure that patients at hospitals are not put at risk. So we appeal to the Government to meet our demands before we go on strike on the 10th. If the Government fails to respond, we will be forced to join the trade union action on the 10th,” he said.
Mr. Kumarasinghe said that all 150,000 employees in the government health sector, except doctors (who account for 10,000 in the sector’s workforce), will join the strike.
“Nurses, paramedicals and junior staff will all go on strike that day. The Health Services Trade Union Alliance alone has some 2,000 members, and they will be joining us. Ninety percent of the total of 4,700 employees in the indigenous medical sector will also join the strike,” he said.
If the medical sector joins the strike, all levels of treatment at all government hospitals will come to a halt on the 10th. This means that all out-patients departments (OPDs) at government hospitals will not be functioning that day; all normal treatment in hospital wards will be suspended; surgical operations will not be conducted, and there will be no transport and special examinations services for patients. The only hospital services that will function that day will be those for the intensive care units.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva believes that no doctors or nurses in the public health sector would join in the strike. “Only a few trade unions will go on strike. The action will be unsuccessful, and we are ready to face it,” he said.
Employees of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation are also expected to join in the union action, involving about 90 percent of the corporation’s 6,000-strong workforce. Schools too may be involved, as teachers’ and school principals’ unions are expected to launch a simultaneous strike that day.
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