The Engineers’ Association of the Road Development Authority (RDA) launched an indefinite trade union action from Thursday (21), citing an unresolved salary anomaly and unmet commitments from earlier rounds of discussions, Ada Derana reported.
The association said several rounds of talks had been held previously with the authorities, but the promises made during those discussions had yet to be fulfilled, prompting the union action.
RDA Engineers’ Association President Umesh Aluthapala told Ada Derana that engineers would withdraw from participating in external committees, including District Coordination Committees and Divisional Coordination Committees. Engineers had also decided to refrain from any activities not formally assigned under the RDA Act, even if those duties were being carried out in consideration of national requirements.
Aluthapala warned that the decision could disrupt project coordination, and said the union would intensify trade union action if authorities failed to provide a solution.
The withdrawal from coordination committees has implications beyond the RDA’s own work programme — district-level public infrastructure planning typically relies on engineering input from RDA staff seconded to those bodies. The action coincides with parliamentary scrutiny earlier this week of Rs. 16.3 billion in expressway revenue and Rs. 5.2 billion in maintenance spending, and the Potuhera-Rambukkana expressway extension and Ruwanpura restart announced last week.
Source: Ada Derana.
