The United Postal Trade Unions Front (UPTUF) is poised to initiate a 24-hour trade union action starting tonight in response to the government's failure to address over 6,000 existing vacancies in the postal service.
This move comes as a result of no recruitments being made to any grades within the sector since 2018, according to UPTUF convener Chinthaka Bandara.
Bandara said that the postal service has been heavily reliant on acting officers, with at least 500 people working as acting service officers across the country, including in sub post offices, and nearly 1,200 serving as acting duty officers.
Despite this, there has been no decision to permanently appoint these acting staff members, some of whom have been in acting positions for nearly 15 years and have exceeded the maximum age limit of 45 for recruitment into government service.
“The situation has become untenable, with many employees unable to continue their service effectively due to the lack of permanent appointments,” Bandara stated. "This long-standing issue has necessitated our decision to initiate a 24-hour trade union action."
