Cooking by gas, once promoted as a cheaper, cleaner and easier option, has become a way of life today. Not surprisingly thus, the gas shortage now being experienced in all parts of the island, has left most households in disarray forcing frantic consumers to rush out desperately each day to distribution outlets in the hope of refilling their empty gas cylinders.
If and when gas does come into filling stations and other sales points it is a mad scramble with people in cars and three wheelers waiting in queues for hours, food and drink in hand desperate to grab that cylinder of gas.
One lady even went to the extent of hiring fourteen three wheelers and made them stay in the queues to collect gas, later selling the gas at three times the price, giving a cut to the three wheeler drivers who had stood in line for her.
Today the Shell Gas Company with two strikes on its record is the talking point among people. Housewives, greatly inconvenienced say there are no kerosene cookers to be had easily and complain they cannot use electric cookers except as a last resort, with electricity prices having soared.
The problem of gas supplies has continued for over a month now. A week long strike begun on May 2 by members of the All Ceylon Commercial and Industrial Workers Union (ACCIWU) first badly disrupted supplies causing the present crisis, but even the settlement of the strike through the good offices of Labour Minister Mahinda Rajapakse on May 8 did not provide enough relief.
Two weeks later in a press release explaining the continuing shortage of gas,the Shell Gas Company said that the Vesak holidays had hampered filling operations and technical difficulties at the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation’s Sapugaskanda refinery had added to their problems.
However the company said it had distributed five million kgs of LP gas since the time of the strike. This may seem like a large volume but it is obvious that demand is outstripping supply with no end to the queues at distribution points.
Shell Gas spokesman Mike Gough, despite repeated requests by the writer failed to send in his views. However the large advertisement placed in the newspapers of May 11, giving the official "Shell Gas" views, may help to throw some light on the issue.
"Resolved" as the ad is titled talks of the "unreasonable industrial action by those Shell Gas employees who are members of the All Ceylon Commercial and Industrial Workers Union."
Shell Gas states that it did try to maintain supplies to the Army and hospitals. The ACCIWU reiterates this in a statement given to this writer after a meeting with its general secretary Mr. Siriwardene.
Minister of Labour, Mahinda Rajapakse commenting on the problem said that one minus point for Shell Gas is that it distributes district and area wise to agents. Why? Possibly due to labour problems. Labour problems, he said, must be handled tactfully.
"Anyway it is their problem. If there is a strike the Union and Management go to the Labour Commissioner to sort things out. Only if there is no solution that it comes to me," he added.
Though the strike was settled with both parties, workers and management signing a memorandum of understanding that included the averting of any further strike action through discussion, the problem is still simmering. Mr. Siriwardene is a polite but angry man. He claims that the Shell Gas advertisement that appeared on May 11 in all the newspapers "was provocative and unreasonable and a distortion of facts." Mr Siriwardene claims that the strike at Shell Gas commenced because some 40 workers were transferred arbitrarily. One of them is Mr. Siriwardene’s secretary.
"Although both strikes have now been resolved, it is highly irregular and provocative and without respect to accepted norms that matters before a legal forum should be given publicity through a statement issued in the papers," Mr. Siriwardene said.
The company advertisement states that the demands made by the Union on the payment of dividends to employee share holders and the use of these shares gifted by the government as collateral for personal loans from the Bank of Ceylon, and the listing of these shares on the stock exchange were all ruled to be invalid by the Labour Minister as the subject or cause of industrial action.
Mr. Siriwardene is of the view that no sensible person especially one like the Minister with a legal background would ever accept such a ruling on an industrial dispute. He says that the Minister did not make any ruling, and to "say so is factually incorrect."
But there seems no respite for the beleaguered consumer. According to Mr Siriwardene the Union is seriously considering whether they can maintain the agreement signed with the Management of Shell Gas Lanka Limited in settling the strike.
"Also we are seriously considering whether the Union could also take steps to abrogate the agreement under section 9 sub-section 1 of the Industrial Disputes Act," he said.
No one wants to see winding queues and fisticuffs at gas stations and outlets
Is it too much to ask that gas supplies be properly handled?
Four Piano Fascination, a concert featuring four grand pianos will be held at the Lionel Wendt on Saturday, June 14. The concert will raise funds for the improvement of six children’s homes. Kshalini Nonis visited the Pamunugama Children’s Home, one of the beneficiaries of this event
In the outskirts of Colombo, situated in quiet and healthy surroundings is a place where destitute, malnourished children have found love, care, security and more importantly a home.
The Pamunugama Children’s Home was started in 1955 by the National Council for Child and Youth Welfare and initially served as a convalescent home for children suffering from Tuberculosis sent by the Ragama and Welisara Children’s Hospitals.
The
youngest children at the home
Today the home accommodates 50 children,
many of whom come from broken families and those who had to contend with
malnutrition due to poverty. The Department of Child Care and Probation directs
such children to the six homes that are run by the National Council for Child
and Youth Welfare.
The children at the Pamunugama home appear to be a closely-knit group, (despite their obvious occasional squabbles!) and are ably guided by their matron Ms. Celine Rodrigo- a mother figure to them. Four-and-a half year olds, Rasangika Minakshi and Harshini Kumar are the youngest children at the home. "We love it here and have a lot of friends, who are more like our family," they said. Harshini in particular was very curious about our photographer’s camera and tried to open it, following us around with a mischievous smile.
The children are educated at the Maha Vidyalaya in the areas. A.R. Nimal, presently a medical student, with the help of a generous sponsor on his way to achieving his life-long ambition of becoming a doctor.
Some of them even had their weddings at the Pamunugama Home. Those who have at least one parent or a relative, are allowed to go home when they are 18 but those without a guardian continue to be supported by the Council.
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