PM gets Colombo port back on track

Workers at the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) were promised their New Year bonuses and other payments following an urgent meeting chaired by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at Temple Trees on Monday.
SLPA workers have been promised special New Year bonuses in addition to payments for productivity from December 2015; and a committee would be appointed to look into the incentive payments to be made to port workers of Jaya Container Terminal (JCT), a statement issued by the Ports and Shipping Minister’s office stated.
The meeting held at Temple Trees was conducted with the participation of SLPA trade union activists, Ports and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunga, Labour Minister John Seneviratne, International Development Minister Malik Samarawickrama and Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva.
The assurance resulted in the calling off of the trade union action initiated by the port workers at the Colombo port for the past seven days over bonus and other payment issues where some had even threatened to go on a hunger strike by sitting on top of Gate 3, trade unionists said. (SD)