CEB non-executives walk out today

By Ifham Nizam

 Nearly 15,000 non-executives, on the Ceylon Electricity Board staff, will stage a walk out from their work stations after lunch today to press for their demand of a 25 per cent pay hike following a decision taken by the United Trade Union Front (UTUF)of the CEB yesterday.

More than 25 trade unions, including the JVP-backed Lanka Viduli Sevaka Sangamaya will take part in the campaign.

UTUF General Secretary H. A. Ranjan Jayalal told The Island: "All departments will not function after the lunch break tomorrow. We will also not attend to any breakdowns during the rest of the day. "It is not our intention to make more than four million consumers suffer. We have been driven to trade union action by the authorities."

He said that they were demanding a 20 per cent pay hike because they had got only a 25 per cent increase early this year though they had requested a 45 per cent hike.

The executives, too, had received the said amount but their salaries had been subsequently increased by another 20 per cent or more, he said.

With the increased ratio, the General Manager had now got a pay hike of 45 per cent, apart from other benefits, while others like the Additional General Managers had been given a nearly 50 per cent salary increase, the unionists said.Ceylon Electricity Board Chairman Professor Wimaladharma Abeywickrema said yesterday that anybody could strike but the CEB would provide uninterrupted services to its consumers.

He said that the strike would not be supported by the engineers, accountants or other key executives of the Board.

He also said that the salary hike given once in three years had already been given to its employees at the beginning of the year.

Consumers could contact the Board in case of an emergency on 1987 or 1901 at any time of the day or night, he added.

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