Some CEB engineers opt out of TU action

By Ifham Nizam

A splinter group of the Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers Union yesterday said it would do its utmost to maintain an uninterrupted power supply.

The newly formed Senior Engineers Association Spokesman, Eng. Nandika Pathirage, told The Island that they would not take part in the trade union action. He said, “We believe that the CEB should be modernised to resolve the upcoming energy crisis. It is our responsibility to do so,” he said.

“The CEB should carry out short term, mid-term and long-term reforms to address the efficiency of the operational framework of the CEB and improve the financial position of the CEB.”

President of Senior Electrical Engineers Union of the CEB, Dr. H. M. Wijekoon Banda, said that a proposal would be presented for the modernisation of the CEB and the acceleration of the construction of low-cost power plants, avoiding high cost emergency power purchases and keeping electricity tariffs stable for the next five years.