Court orders port workers to suspend work-to-rule

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 July 2006, 10:04 GMT]
The weeklong work-to-rule campaign by port workers which crippled the loading and unloading activities of the Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA) came to an end following an enjoining order issued by the Colombo District Judge restraining ten trade unions involved in the union action on an application filed by the SLPA, legal sources said.

The SLPA in its application cited ten trade unions as the defendants. It said that the work-to-rule which commenced on July 13 had caused a loss of millions of rupees to the SLPA. The SLPA further claimed that due to the alleged threat, sabotage and intimidation of the defendants, trade unions, there was a decline of sixty percent in the productivity in the port since July 13, legal sources said.

The petitioner, SLPA, begged court to declare that the members of these trade unions were not entitled in law to threaten and intimidate employees and prevent them from carrying their work and also issue an enjoining order restraining them from engaging in a go-slow thereby reducing the productivity of the port, legal sources said.

The Court agreed with the petioner and issued an enjoining order on the defendants-trade unions and noticed the defendants returnable on July 25, legal sources said.

In the meantime, steps were taken to bring Sri Lanka Ports Authority controlled Colombo Port operations back to normal after the visit of Minister of Ports, Aviation and Foreign Affairs Mangala Samaraweera Wednesday evening. The Minister also briefed all port employees gathered at the Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) and expressed gratitude to all who contribute towards the high productivity at the ports.