Railway strike a success claim unions
Railway unions that launched a strike from yesterday claimed it was a success with the Railway Department being able to run only 15 trains yesterday morning and evening.
The Locomotive Operating Engineers Union, Sri Lanka Railways Engine Drivers Union and Sri Lanka Railway Guards Union launched a strike from midnight Friday to highlight the faulty signaling system in use in the country and the need to conduct a full inquiry into the matter as well as last week’s train crash in Ganemulla and to reinstate the four railway employees who have been suspended from working following the Ganemulla crash.
According to the unions, the Railway Department has managed to run 15 trains yesterday morning and the same numbers in the evening using the services of retired employees, district railway supervisors and their assistants.
The unions further claimed that the Railway authorities without conducting a complete inquiry into the Ganemulla railway rash and investigating into the faulty signaling system unanimously decide to suspend four railway employees.
Secretary, Locomotive Operating Engineers’ Union, Mahinda Karunaratne told The Sunday Leader that the faulty signaling system was the key reason for the Ganemulla railway accident where two express trains operating on the same railway line collided, killing one person while injuring many others on board.
Karunaratne said that the four employees who were suspended from work should be reinstated as the fault for the accident lay in the faulty signaling system.
By Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema
Source: thesundayleader
