Postmaster General Rohana Abeyratne has requested all postal department employees to halt their strike action and report to work immediately.
Releasing a communiqué yesterday he urged the employees to resolve their problems and demands through discussions.
“The Minister of Posts, Ministry Secretary and I as the Postmaster General, agree that the demands presented by the Unions are fair,” the communique said.
The Postmaster General also assured that their demands will be addressed within a month. “An acceptable solution will be provided,” he said, adding that the Department should be protected from competitors by providing services to the public.
However, the Joint Postal Trade Union Front claims the date for a discussion has not been provided while officials have not shown any interest in the demands of the workers. “We will, therefore, not return to work under any circumstance unless our demands are met,” he said.
According to Chinthaka Bandara, convener of the Union, despite a joint ministerial communique signed by Minister Sarath Amunugama and Minister Abdul Haleem on January 12, 2018, promising to resolve the issues faced by them, no action has been taken as yet. “Again on June 1 we were told solutions will be provided in another two weeks,” he said adding that too has lapsed now.
The strike which commenced on June 10 has reached its seventh day. According to sources of the Department of Posts, it is incurring a loss of Rs. 150 million daily as a result of the ongoing strike.