While a section of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) trade unions (TUs) have expressed satisfaction following talks held on Monday (16) between the CEB administration and the TUs, others are once again up in arms, threatening to fall back on their decision to stage a strike between 20 and 28 February, as discussions failed with the CEB authorities allegedly refusing to ensure the job security of employees, the Association of CEB Technicians Chairperson  Kosala Abeysinghe claimed.

Abeysinghe told The Daily Morning yesterday (17) that although TUs had advocated the formal signing of a new collective agreement to protect employees’ rights, salary scales, and benefits before the restructuring is gazetted, the authorities had refused to enter into the revised agreement. The revisions state that all existing financial and non-financial privileges including promotions, transfers, and medical benefits, etc., should remain unchanged and guaranteed under the new structure. 

The unions also demanded that disparities in the Voluntary Retirement Scheme be amended, specifically with three months’ salary for each completed year of service instead of the two months’ pay that has been offered. They further demanded guarantees of employee security so that employee rights will not be reduced or removed, with the collective agreement binding on all successor companies. 

They also called for amendments to the existing salary anomalies of CEB employees. The unions also called for a mechanism to respond to disaster situations, similar to the response during the power crisis caused by cyclonic weather conditions. They noted that this had been easier at the time because the CEB functioned as a single institution. However, once it is separated, a clear mechanism should be in place on how such situations should be handled, the unions observed.

However, it was reported that the CEB administration had invited the unions to jointly prepare and submit an alternative proposal for consideration. More than 20 CEB TUs are prepared to strike, it is learnt.