Railway unions call off token strike

The 24-hour token strike launched by the Locomotive Engine Operators’ Union and railway guards’ unions has been called off this afternoon (March 18).

The decision was reached following a discussion held with Minister of Transport Gamini Lokuge, says Secretary of the Locomotive Engineering Operators’ Union (LEOU) Indika Dodangoda.

Railway unions resorted to a token strike midnight yesterday (March 17) over several demands including the decision of the government to recover the losses from the railway employees for the operational errors that occur during the operation of trains.

However, the Department of Railways took steps to operate several office trains using officials who are not on strike.

Reportedly, arrangements were made to run 5 office trains on the Main Line and 4 office trains on the Coastal Line. The Railways Department also took measures to operate two office trains each on other railway lines.