The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has revoked the leave of all its employees effective from January 02, as communicated through a circular issued by Acting General Manager Eng. (Dr.) Narendra De Silva on January 01.
The decision, grounded in the provisions outlined in Extraordinary Gazette No. 2363/02 published on December 18, 2023, and issued on the instructions of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, designates all services related to electricity supply as essential public services.
According to Dr. De Silva, the cancellation of employee leave is a direct consequence of this declaration and will remain in effect until further notice. He specified that in the case of urgent matters, employees are permitted to take leave, subject to approval by an executive officer within their respective division or branch.
In response to this announcement, the Ceylon Electricity Workers’ Union (CEWU) declared a three-day trade union action starting on January 02. The protest aims to persuade Power & Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera to withdraw the proposed bill for restructuring the CEB.
