Don't be misled CEB employees told

Wasantha Ramanayake

Power and Energy Minister W.D.J. Senevirathne yesterday appealed to CEB employees not to be mislead by the politically motivated power hungry trade unions.

Minister Senevirathne addressing the Media on the proposed country-wide token strike called by Lanka Viduly Sevaka Sangamaya (LVSS) said the President has directed to grant the 2009 salary increase to the CEB employees in 2010. Answering a question the minister said if the Government so decided the arrears for 2009 too would be paid.

The Minister said only LVSS along with eight small unions are taking part in this campaign.

" I am happy that the majority of the unions including the Engineers Union and, Electrical Superintendents Union, some technical officers unions and the unions affiliated to the SLFP are not taking part in the agitation," he said.

The Minister said that the tradition is to increase the salaries of the CEB employees once in every three years. He said that when he took over the Ministry in 2006 he granted the salary increment on time. The Minister said while the salary increase for 2009 was being discussed in 2008 the Government took a policy decision not grant salary increases to the public sector employees considering the war expenditure which had been drastically increased.

He also pointed out that the country also felt the global financial down-turn that resulted in a drop in the country's export earnings. "The government had to give subsidies to the export sector such as tea and rubber," the Minister pointed out. The Minister added that despite the heightened war effort to defeat terrorism the Government continued with development projects such as Norochcholai, and Upper Kotmale.

He added that the CEB is also constructing the transmission lines in the North which has been destroyed by the LTTE.

Acting Chairman K. Ranaweera and Acting General Manager S. Jayawardane were also present.