Mar 14, Colombo: Leave of all the staff of the Railway Department, which is designated as an essential public service will be canceled with immediate effect, the General Manager of Sri Lanka Railways . W.A.D.S. Gunasinghe.

According to the Extraordinary Gazette Notification No. 2321/07 dated 27.02.2023, the Sri Lanka Railways has been declared an essential service by the President.

Accordingly, the General Manager of Railways has taken steps to cancel the leave of all the staff of the Sri Lanka Railways, which has been declared as an essential public service in terms of Section 2 of the Essential Public Service Act No. 61 of 1979, with immediate effect from 14.03.2023.

According to the announcement, the General Manager of Railways W.A.D.S. Gunasinghe has informed all the heads of the department to ask for excuses from all officers who do not report to work on 15.03.2023 in order to maintain the railway service continuously and efficiently and submit a report to him.

However, the co-convener of the Alliance of Railway Trade Unions S.P. Withanage said a one-day strike based on 5 demands will be launched as planned from midnight today (14).