Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) Unions will stage an ongoing protest from today against the proposed CEB Bill that will be presented to Parliament for its second reading next Tuesday.

The CEB United Trade Union Association (UTUA) has pledged to continue trade union action against the proposed Bill, which is to be finalised early next week, until its final reading in parliament is completed. UTUA Convenor Ranjan Jayalal maintained that they would work together with other trade unions to conduct the protest today. Workers of CEB branches countrywide will hoist black flags in protest of the bill and participate in awareness programmes conducted on the demerits of the Bill done by Union representatives. UTUA will also send letters to various ministers requesting them to vote against the Bill when it is presented in Parliament.

In addition workers of the CEB will sign a petition against the Bill and telegrams will be sent to the President urging his intervention as part of the campaign. On Tuesday March 3 all employees will put sick leave and refrain from coming to work, according to Jayalal. The Union alleges that the Bill will handover parts of the CEB to private companies and pave the way for the eventual privatization of the state organization.

“If this Bill is passed then there is every chance that in the future power generation and distribution will be handed over to private companies both here and abroad and that even other state corporations can take over functions. If this Bill is passed then it automatically nullifies the 2002 No.28 CEB Bill and even though that is a good thing we do not want to see adverse effects from this new Bill,” he said.

Jayalal also insisted that the government plans to obtain a loan of US$.750 million using the CEB as collateral and this was the reason behind the swift and secretive presentation of the Bill. He pledged to take tough trade union action if the Bill is passed next week.