INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A total of 51 more employees of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) have been interdicted for obstructing the services by refusing to accept
bill payments from consumers during their three-day protests staged against the proposed restructuring of the state-owned electricity
restructure the Board and the new Electricity Bill.On Friday (Jan.15), the CEB suspended 15 clerical staff members in charge of the cash
counters for inconveniencing the customers, who had come to pay their bills, by closing the windows of the counters and refraining from
accepting payments.Accordingly, 66 employees in total remain interdicted.The CEB says further inquiries are underway to identify other
employees who refrained from performing their duties and disrupted the services amidst the trade union action.Ahead of the trade union
action, the CEB management, by way of a circular, had cancelled the leave of all employees with effect from January 02
However, in case of an urgent matter, the employees were allowed to take a leave, with the approval of an executive officer attached to the
respective division or branch.Meanwhile, Extraordinary Gazette No.2363.02 published on December 18, 2023, on the instructions of President
Ranil Wickremesinghe, had declared all services connected to the electricity supply as essential public services.After the three-day trade
union action was launched, Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera instructed the CEB management to suspend and take appropriate
disciplinary action against the employees disrupting the services, or acting in violation of the guidelines.
