Technical officers attached to the Central Provincial Council have warned of province-wide trade union action, including a possible total service shutdown, over what they describe as an arbitrary and unconstitutional recruitment process for technical officer posts.
The Central Province State Service Civil, Electrical, and Mechanical Technical Officers’ Association said it would stage a major protest in front of the Central Provincial Council at Pallekele on Monday, demanding the immediate withdrawal of a decision to recruit “unqualified individuals” as technical officers.
Association President Indunil Chandrasekara, addressing reporters at the Devon Hotel, alleged that the Central Province Governor, Chief Secretary and Provincial Public Service Commission had continued to act arbitrarily despite repeated appeals by the union. He warned that the recruitments could result in large-scale misappropriation of public funds and undermine the province’s technical services.
“If we launch a strike, the Central Province, which is already struggling to recover from the devastation caused by the Ditwah disaster, will face a deeper crisis,” Chandrasekara said. He claimed the proposed recruitment process violated the approved service minute governing technical officer appointments.
Former Association President A.R.B. Attanayake said nearly Rs. 4 billion had been allocated for the rehabilitation of bridges, culverts and canals damaged by the November 2025 Cyclone Ditwah disaster and warned that ongoing development work could collapse without qualified technical officers. He said the province had about 150 vacancies for technical officers and accused senior officials of misleading decision-makers and creating an administrative crisis.
Union officials also alleged that contractors had already halted work in several parts of the province because of administrative inefficiencies and delays. The press briefing was attended by association secretary Arosha Samarakoon, treasurer Abeyratne Banda, chief organisers Sanjeewa Kelum and L.H.K. Sanjeewa, vice president M.D.S.K. Ranasinghe and deputy secretary I.P.L. Hewalage.
The threatened shutdown comes as the June deadline for displaced-family resettlement coordination and the Rs. 500 billion central-government Ditwah recovery package push provincial administrations to deliver visible infrastructure rebuilding ahead of the southwest monsoon.
