Striking Railway Workers Warned of Dismissal For Disrupting Rail Services

COLOMBO (News 1st); Letter have been dispatched stating that striking railway workers are considered to have vacated their positions, said Transport Minister Bandula Gunwardana on Thursday (11).

Bandula Gunawardana, strongly criticized what he describes as "terrorist trade unions" for challenging the laws and directives of the Executive President of the country by initiating a strike.

In response to this defiance of the law, the Minister announced that all railway station masters who participated in the strike are deemed to have abandoned their positions.

Letters to this effect have been sent out to approximately 1000 railway personnel. Minister Gunawardana further stated that those who fail to return to work will face dismissal from their positions.

When questioned about the demands of the striking workers, Minister Gunawardana dismissed the notion of negotiating with force.

He questioned the legitimacy of their demands, especially when the strike disrupts the daily commuting of railway passengers who rely on the service.

The Minister added a political angle to his comments, suggesting that if former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa were in power, the response might have been different.

"If Gotabaya Rajapaksa was the President, we could have stayed silent. It is Ranil Wickremesinghe who is the president. A public service that operates with ruffians cannot take a country forward," he said.