The Island
Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) workers’ work-to-rule campaign would be called off with effect from midnight yesterday, Vice President of the CPC General Employees’ Association Luxman Ananda told The Island last night. He said workers would resume work with effect from Monday (26).
The CPC protest commenced on Thursday against what CPC trade unions called a failure on the part of the CPC management to grant a pay hike to workers who were entitled to it every three years. Ananda said the work-to-rule had been scheduled for only two days but its impact had been felt for four days because the protesting workers could not do their overtime work during the weekend because of labour laws.
Ananda said that the CPC unions had held discussions with Petroleum and Petroleum Resources Development Minister A. H. M. Fowzie and several government officials on Wednesday but to no avail. He said though the work-to-rule was over, workers’ agitation campaign would continue.
He said Minister Fowzie had promised to arrange for a discussion between CPC trade union representatives and President Mahinda Rajapaksa but they had no faith in the Minister.
The CPC protest affected the fuel distribution to some extent but panic buying caused a severe shortage in Colombo and many other parts of the country.