Railway employees of Sri Lanka threaten 56- hour strike on the 22nd

Employees of Sri Lanka Railways have threatened to launch a 56-hour token strike on the 22nd demanding a solution to their salary issues. The Joint Trade Union Alliance of Sri Lanka Railways has asked Transport Minister Kumara Welgama to resolve the issue of salary anomalies or face the strike on the 22nd. Convener of the Alliance, Janaka Fernando has said the strike would commence at midnight on the 22nd and continue until 6 a.m. on the 24th. He has observed that a strike action planned by the trade unions on January 9th had been called off after the Transport Minister had assured to organize a meeting between the railway trade unions, the Presidential Secretariat and the Salaries and Cadre Commission to resolve the salary issues of railway employees. Fernando has explained that although the trade unions were to meet Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga before the 10th of this month, the meeting had not yet taken place. According to the trade unions, salaries of railway employees have not been increased over a long period of time.