Station Masters on strike tomorrow if President, Minister do not address their issues

Colombo, October 29 (Daily Mirror) - If the President and the Minister do not address the administrative issues within the Railways Department, the Sri Lanka Railways Station Masters' Union (SLRSMU) has decided to launch a trade union action tomorrow.

SLRSMU President Sumedha Somarathne said they have been holding media briefings on these issues over the past few days.

"Today, the Railways General Manager was unable to provide a proper solution to problems arising from certain subordinate officers’ reluctance to follow the orders of the General Superintendent of Railways.

"Accordingly, based on tomorrow’s discussion with either the Ministry Secretary or the Minister, our trade union action will proceed.

“The Railways Department has failed to provide necessary facilities for passengers and to maintain train services. Trains are being cancelled or derailed daily. We are also unable to assign an engine for the additional school train from Nanu Oya to Kandy. During the previous government, we went on strike but were forced to set aside our demands due to administrative issues," Somarathne said.

"We never aim to strike to inconvenience the public or the political authorities. But if a strike is our last option, we won’t hesitate to use it.

"We hope that the President and the Minister will address this matter. If not, we plan to proceed with a unique form of strike action tomorrow," he added.