SLPA ignores Point Pedro harbour workers

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 October 2003, 15:26 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA) is not paying hundreds of workers who are engaged in loading and unloading of cargo in Point Pedro harbor regularly. A sum of 1.7 million rupees has accumulated as salary arrears to be paid for the workers since June this year, port trade union sources allege.

Point Pedro harbour was administered by the Jaffna district secretariat till June this year. The Sri Lanka Ports Authority, which has its headquarters in Colombo, took over the management of the harbour in July this year. Since then harbour workers are not paid regularly, trade union sources complained

Meanwhile Point Pedro harbor workers have told their immediate superiors in the area that they would launch a trade union action if they were not paid their salary arrears, which have accumulated to the tune of 1.7 million rupees before Deepavali festival, which falls on Friday.

The Sri Lanka Ports Authority in the meantime has not taken any steps to improve the Point Pedro since it was taken over from the Jaffna district secretariat, sources said.