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| Sunday, 11 September 2005 |
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OT for three drivers in one train by Indeewara Thilakarathne The Locomotive Operating Engineers Union (LOEU) which launched an islandwide railway strike demanding for the rectification of the salary anomalies and setting up of a separate service ended its week-long strike on Tuesday following the assurance given by the Railway Minister Felix Perera. LOEU Secretary K.A.U Kontasinghe said all members of the Union had reported to work by Thursday evening but there was a managerial problem due to the delay in rostering the employees by the driver-in-charge of bookings. He also said Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse had also given an assurance that he would look into the demands made by the Union. However when inquired, the Ministry Secretary, K.Haputhanthri accused the drivers of forcibly assuming the role of supervising themselves and this had led to an over-time scandal where drivers were paid overtime even after changing their shifts. "Sometimes, three drivers are assigned for long-distance trains such as the Badulla bound train and one driver, for instance, gets off at Peradeniya Junction Station and goes home. But when calculating overtime, the three drivers were paid over time for the entire journey. We have appointed supervisors to rectify this situation and the union demands the salary scale of the supervisors. This demand was totally illogical", he said. |
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