Ceylon Electricity Board Workers Escalate Trade Union actions

23-Sep-2025

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Workers of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) withdrew from procurement and pricing activities from September 21, escalating their trade union action against the government’s restructuring plans.

Union leaders stated they had presented 17 demands, including salary increments, promotions, and proper restructuring procedures. 

Since the government has failed to address these, workers are gradually intensifying protests, warning of a continuous strike if demands are ignored.

Earlier, on September 4, they began “work-to-rule” actions. 

On September 17–18, they staged a sick-leave protest outside the CEB headquarters. Now, by halting procurement-related activities, unions warned this could delay equipment quality assessments, new connections, and repairs during outages.

Union secretaries Bianda Wickremesinghe and Ajith Devapriya called on the President to intervene and resolve the issue through dialogue.