Postal Workers Launch Islandwide Strike Over 19 Demands

COLOMBO (News 1st): All postal workers across the country have launched a strike action, citing 19 key demands, including the proper payment of overtime allowances and the need to address employee shortages.

The strike began at all postal offices at midnight yesterday, while employees of the Central Mail Exchange in Colombo joined the protest from 4 p.m.

The trade unions leading the strike include the Postal and Telecommunications Officers' Union and the Joint Postal Trade Union Alliance. 

They claim the issues at hand have been unresolved for too long, prompting collective action.

Among the 19 demands are:

-Proper calculation and payment of overtime allowances,

-Immediate recruitment to fill long-standing vacancies,

-Solutions to operational issues in the postal transport division, and

-Implementation of the proposed three-tier salary increments for frontline officers.

Convener of the Joint Postal Trade Union Alliance, Chinthaka Bandara says that the Postmaster General held preliminary discussions with them regarding the 19 demands. 

However, those talks ended in failure. 

He added that two of the most critical issues are the overtime allowances and the implementation of the fingerprint attendance system. 

While acknowledging that overtime payments have increased in proportion to recent salary hikes, Bandara said that there has always been a specific method used historically by the Department of Posts to calculate overtime payments per hour. 

He went on to note that that method has now been changed, resulting in reduced payments for overtime already worked.

Despite the ongoing strike, Postmaster General Ruwan Sathkumara says that over 3,000 sub-post offices remain open and operational.

However, all leave for employees of the Department of Posts has been suspended with immediate effect from yesterday until further notice.