Members oppose CEB Union’s stance

The Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers Union is threatening trade union action against a Ministerial Committee appointed to investigate into the purchase of eight crane trucks using tsunami funds which do not meet CEB technical specification. The CEB spent a staggering 52 million rupees of tsunami funds to purchase the trucks which are now unutilized, The Sunday Times learns.
Last week Power and Energy Minister John Seneviratne appointed a three-member committee headed by retired Appeal Court Judge Mr. Chandradasa Nanayakara to investigate into the purchase.

However less than a week since the Committee started work the Engineers Union at a meeting on Friday decided that it would protest the move. The Union has decided to refrain from attending any meetings with the Technical Evaluation Committees.

The Sunday Times learns that several engineers are against the union action claiming that the matter has to be investigated, as the CEB paid such a high sum of money for the trucks. According to the 1969 CEB Act the Minister has the power to investigate and appoint an outsider to a committee.

The heavy vehicles which have already been distributed to its locations come under the “STAART Project”. The crane truck which the CEB acquired is for drilling power poles when it is distributed and the truck should be capable of drilling the pole. While power is on the line, it can be done within half an hour.

However the crane truck which was bought, is used for transporting logs, and generally used by timber merchants. Despite the CEB having around 60 crane trucks which meet CEB specifications, the eight trucks which were bought using the tsunami funds do not meet the specification.

As the crane trucks did not meet the required specification at the time of purchase, the head of the Procurement Division of the CEB refused to sign the invoice. A demonstration was carried out to prove that the trucks could be used for CEB work, but the trucks failed to perform.