Telecom employees plan strike

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 December 1998, 15:53 GMT]
Employees of Telecom Ltd, which was formed after the Government Department of Telecommunication service privatised by the Sri Lankan government recently, are preparing for a general strike, trade union sources said today.

The employees are objecting to a decision made by the Telecom Regulatory Commission which is favourable to other organizations such as Suntel and Lankabel regarding the provision of wireless telephone connections in the commercial areas of Colombo city.

This particular decision has affected the principles of Telecom and the chairman of the company has decided to resign from his post.

Telecom trade union sources said that although this matter was brought to the notice of the Minister of Post and Telecommunications he has failed to find a solution for the problem within the period of time he had mentioned.

"Yesterday was the deadline for the Ministers assurance. But nothing had happened to this minute" a spokesman for Joint Union Front of Telecom said.

He said that their strike would not be a 'traditional' one. "Our action will be secret. The subscribers will feel what we are doing when we go on strike" he added.

Industry sources say the threatened action could disrupt telecommunications across the island.