Decision by power sector employees to withdraw from all services

2026-03-09 - 15:48

The Free Employees’ Union of the Ceylon Electricity Board states that all employees of the Board have decided to withdraw from all services for a 24-hour period starting at 3.00 p.m. today (09). Speaking to the media, the union’s General Secretary, Prabath Priyantha, said that on a day such as today, which he described as the “death day” of the Electricity Board, the Government had failed to provide any constructive response or a collective agreement to electricity sector employees. He stressed that employees would refrain from reporting for duty until a discussion is granted after studying the proposed collective agreement. Mr. Priyantha further stated that arrangements had been made to continue the operations of power plants and other essential operational activities. However, he noted that breakdown services and all maintenance work would be suspended. During the 24-hour period, steps would be taken to ensure an uninterrupted electricity supply to the National Hospital of Colombo, Kandy National Hospital, Karapitiya Teaching Hospital, as well as the Sri Lanka Army Headquarters. Meanwhile, the Secretary of the National Employees’ Union of the Ceylon Electricity Board, Ajith Devapriya, stated that 25 trade unions had jointly arrived at this decision. He added that the trade union action was not intended to bring the Government to its knees, and that although the unions agreed to restructuring, they would under no circumstances consent to measures that would cause injustice to electricity sector employees.