Unions smell a rat in Galle-Matara railway deal
Railway employees are up in arms against the Railway Ministry’s failure to reveal details of the Matara-Galle railway-upgrading agreement with an Indian rail construction company, Organisation for Protection of the Properties and Rights of Railway Employees (OPPRRE) sources said.
Railways Minister Dulles Alahapperuma’s failure to reveal the contents of the July 21 agreement to the railway employees will result in a series of protest campaigns followed by trade union action by the railway employees warns OPPRRE.
“Although Minister Alahapperuma claims that the agreement is to restore the tsunami damaged railway tracks and also to upgrade the railway signal system railway employees are not ready to believe the Minister as it was clear that this is a programme initiated to pave the way for the railway privatisation process,” Convener, OPPRRE, Sumathipala Manawadu told The Morning Leader.
According to Manawadu, the government soon after the tsunami devastation wanted to offer the rail reconstruction work to this same Indian company — Indian RITE Company — but had to withdraw the proposal because of strong opposition from the railway employees.
“This was a company that wanted 365 days to restore the damaged railway tracks but the railway employees were able to restore the railway line within 57 days. We have proved as to what we could do and in that backdrop what was the need for the government to give the remaining restoration work to the same Indian company? Does that indicate that the government does not have confidence in the local railway workers’?” queried Manawadu.
Manawadu further said that the proposed Matara-Galle railway line upgrading process is to halt train services between the two cities for four months.
“For the past one and a half months we have been requesting a meeting with Minister Alahapperuma to find out the contents of the agreement. But his failure to give an appointment to the trade union representatives is a clear indication of the government’s secret plans. Hence we have now planned to resort to trade union action to force the authorities to divulge the contents of the pact,” Manawadu said.
By Nirmala Kannangara
Source: The Morning Leader
September 9th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Sri Lankan Railways is in the real bad condition.
I always wanted to support the Sri Lankan Railways to develop atleast to the level of South Indian Railways. But politics in the country is really scary. The country’s crookers will take simply like that. – Banuthev.
March 1st, 2009 at 10:46 am
We are only worried of
(1) Concrete Sleepers being imported from India for this project. ? When local production lines are available – one in SLR at Dematagoda and one in private sector at Sooriyawewa.(Holcim Cement Factory line usaes them)
(2) Only Elastic Clips & insulators from India. ? Questionable standards !Wil they permit Pandrol Clips /
(3) We hear 52Kg rails manufactured in India are to be used ? Trans Asian Railway is to use UIC 60 Kg. All major crridors in India are using / converting to UIC 60 Kg. Why RITES promoting 52 Kg for Sri Lanka’s coastal line. ?
(4) Procurement of materials – Is it open for International Tender ?
(5) RITES is the promotional wing of IR IRCON is the Construction wing ? Why ius RITES involved ?