• Cite unaddressed salary & allowance issues 

Around 18,000 executive-level officers of the public sector will launch a strike from 2-3 May to express opposition to long drawn-out salary and allowance related issues.

The Joint Committee of Government Executive Officers’ President, H.A.L Udayasiri, told The Daily Morning that on 2 May and 3 May, around 18,000 executive officers representing around 18 trade unions will withdraw from work. The relevant officials have already been informed of this decision, according to him, who explained that the Joint Committee had to resort to this move in a context where the authorities have not responded positively to their concerns despite various discussions regarding the same.

Earlier, the Joint Committee warned that due to this move, activities in the public sector, including Ministries, Departments, and Divisional and District Secretariats, will come to a halt. The Joint Committee further said that as part of this strike, executive level officials will continue to withdraw from District and Divisional coordination committee activities as well.

As per the Joint Committee, executive level officials of the public sector have not received proper salary and allowance hikes since 2016. Last month (March), the Joint Committee’s Secretary Y.L.C.P. Madurapperuma said that even though a committee has been appointed to address their issues, they had not received an opportunity to hold direct discussions with the said committee, and that therefore, it remains sceptical about the outcomes of these committee proceedings.