By Rathindra Kuruwita

Employees of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), on Friday (05), continued their protest for the third consecutive day against what they called a move to privatise the CEB on the pretext of restructuring it.

Union leaders say that they are protesting the Government’s efforts to break up the CEB by revoking the Ceylon Electricity Board Act (No. 17 of 1969) through the introduction of a new Electricity Act.

The Ministry of Power and Energy cancelled the leave of all CEB employees, but many of them attended the protest, especially yesterday.CEB United Trade Union Alliance Convener Ranjan Jayalal said that they would not allow the government to implement the proposed Electricity Act, even if it was passed by Parliament.

The Bill was to be presented to Parliament last year; it was postponed after the Opposition MPs pointed out glaring mistakes in the text.

Kosala Abeysinghe, President of the Ceylon Electricity Board Technician’s Union, said 10,000 workers had joined demonstrations countrywide.W.A. Prabath, Secretary of the CEB’s Nidahas Sevaka Sangamaya said that the Minister had not discussed the Act with unions.