CEBEU submits letter to Energy Minister outlining stance on electricity sector issues and TU action

The Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union (CEBEU) has sent a letter to Minister of Energy Kumara Jayakody, clarifying its position with regard to overcoming current issues facing the country’s electricity system and concluding the trade union action initiated by the Joint Trade Union Alliance.

According to the letter, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has ruled that the privileges enjoyed by employees should not be reduced in any manner during the restructuring process of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).

The union has further pointed out that despite this ruling, the CEB is currently taking steps to assign employees to successor companies, which it claims seriously violates the rights of workers.

The letter also notes that, as continuous demands and negotiations to secure employee rights failed to produce results, 25 trade unions affiliated with the CEB had to initiate trade union action from 3.00 p.m. last Monday (9).

Accordingly, a discussion was held yesterday (10) with the board members of the successor companies regarding the clauses in the proposed collective agreement submitted by the 25 trade unions.

The discussions reportedly concluded on a somewhat positive note, and the letter states that the chairpersons of the four successor companies have agreed to discuss the unresolved matters with the Energy Minister and provide final decisions.