CEB engineers threaten to create darkness at noon

By Sandun A Jayasekera

The CEB engineers are threatening to plunge the country into darkness unless their two demands, including the immediate removal of chairman Udayasiri Kariyawasam, were met before next Wednesday.

Until then the 500 odd members of the CEB Engineers Union will launch a work-to-rule campaign from today. The Union in an extra ordinary meeting held on Tuesday had decided to give an ultimatum of one week to the Government to meet its demands to prevent a general strike which would result a total breakdown of electricity supply to the country, CEBEU president Jayawilal Meegoda told the Daily Mirror yesterday.

The other demand is to permit engineers to import vehicles under duty concessions.

“There is no rapport between Mr. Kariyawasam and the CEBEU members and we are on a non-cooperation course for the last 40 days. He has been an impediment to our work. As the CEB is supplying a vital public utility, there must be close cooperation between the administration and the engineers which is not forthcoming,” Mr. Meegoda told the Daily Mirror.

He alleged the chairman meets the board of directors only once a month and even in that meeting 95% of vital board papers which need immediate approval are rejected. This has become a drawback for the smooth functioning of the day to day work of the corporation, he said.

There is a shortage of about 400 electrical engineers. The Cabinet had made a policy decision to recruit 200 of them some two months back. But Mr. Kariyawasam was still sitting on the Cabinet decision. What ever suggestions are given by engineers for the improvement of the CEB and its services are arbitrarily turned down by the chairman even without checking their merits or demerits. He is simply obstructing our work, Mr. Meegoda charged.

“We want a professional who has knowledge in this field. We also want to raise the ‘procurement limit’ from the present three million rupees which was set five years ago,” he said.

The engineers must be granted the duty concessions given to other professionals and senior public servants to import vehicles. Every month two or three engineers are leaving the country for greener pastures as they are not treated properly in their own country, he said.

Commenting on the proposed Sri Lanka Electricity Bill which was withdrawn by the Power and Energy Minister W D.J.Seneviratna, Mr. Meegoda said the CEBEU will start an indefinite struggle if the Minister presents the Bill in Parliament without incorporating its amendments.