Worsening the current fuel crisis in Sri Lanka, over 90 percent of the country's filling stations have already been closed by this afternoon due to lack of fuel as a result of the work-to-rule campaign launched by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation employees.
The work-to-rule campaign, called by the state-owned oil company last Wednesday midnight entered into a third consecutive day today with no resolution in sight.
According to the CPC, 173 filling stations owned by them have already been closed due to lack of fuel.
The CPC unions said that any of their employees had not reported to overtime duties on Saturday and it would be the same tomorrow also.
The distribution department of the CPC said that nearly 600 trucks, each carrying 6,600 liters of fuel stocks usually leave for various parts of the country on Saturdays, but no one had left this morning.
The Chairman of the Petroleum Corporation Major General Ashoka Thoradeniya said measures have been taken to distribute fuel throughout the country without any delay and a large number of fuel bowsers have been dispatched with fuel.
However, long queues are forming today too at many fuel stations in and around Colombo as well as at the outstations, but the motorists have to leave the filling stations empty tanked.
The CPC employees have resorted to this union action demanding an interim allowance of Rs. 5,000 until they receive a pay raise.
The CPC unions held talks with Petroleum and Petroleum Resources Development Minister A.H.M Fowzie on last Thursday morning, but the talks ended without a decision. They have agreed to meet the President on Monday.
The CPC Chairman said the union action is unreasonable, especially when the government is really engaged in solving matters in petroleum sector.
The union action launched by the opposition backed unions is seen as a start of a pre-election campaign against the government.
colombopage
The work-to-rule campaign, called by the state-owned oil company last Wednesday midnight entered into a third consecutive day today with no resolution in sight.
According to the CPC, 173 filling stations owned by them have already been closed due to lack of fuel.
The CPC unions said that any of their employees had not reported to overtime duties on Saturday and it would be the same tomorrow also.
The distribution department of the CPC said that nearly 600 trucks, each carrying 6,600 liters of fuel stocks usually leave for various parts of the country on Saturdays, but no one had left this morning.
The Chairman of the Petroleum Corporation Major General Ashoka Thoradeniya said measures have been taken to distribute fuel throughout the country without any delay and a large number of fuel bowsers have been dispatched with fuel.
However, long queues are forming today too at many fuel stations in and around Colombo as well as at the outstations, but the motorists have to leave the filling stations empty tanked.
The CPC employees have resorted to this union action demanding an interim allowance of Rs. 5,000 until they receive a pay raise.
The CPC unions held talks with Petroleum and Petroleum Resources Development Minister A.H.M Fowzie on last Thursday morning, but the talks ended without a decision. They have agreed to meet the President on Monday.
The CPC Chairman said the union action is unreasonable, especially when the government is really engaged in solving matters in petroleum sector.
The union action launched by the opposition backed unions is seen as a start of a pre-election campaign against the government.
colombopage
