Rs. 05 Mn daily loss due to strike action launched by Railway Station Masters

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Department of Railways is incurring a loss of Rs. 05 million per day due to the continuous strike action launched by the Sri Lanka Railway Station Masters' Association, says the General Manager of Railways, Dhammika Jayasundara.

The Sri Lanka Railway Station Masters' Association stated that it has decided to withdraw from all services from midnight on Sunday (26) and go on a continuous island wide strike.

The President of the Railway Station Masters' Association Sumedha Somaratne said a final decision in this regard will be reached at the Executive committee meeting of the Railway Station Masters' Association which is scheduled to be held this afternoon.

He alleged that while the Secretary to the Transport Ministry was attempting to resolve the issues, the Railway Superintendent was attempting to disregard their problems.

Meanwhile, General Manager of Railways, Dhammika Jayasundara says despite the strike action launched by the Station Masters, measures have been taken to continue the operations of the train services.

The strike was launched citing several issues including the lack of freight service trains, the failure of the Railways Department to resolve the issues of Railway Station Masters, and complications pertaining to signal systems.

Due to the strike action, Railway Station Masters have refrained from accepting parcels that are to be transported by train and the issuance of tickets as well.