Sation Masters have launched an immediate and unjustified strike today, causing severe inconvenience to the general public.
The strike is based on two primary demands:
- Delays in implementing the 5-yearly grade promotion system.
- Delays in the appointment of new officers.
At the beginning of this year (22/01/2025), the Ministry of Transport, Highways, Ports, and Civil Aviation submitted a cabinet paper, which received approval to recruit 909 new officers to fill existing vacancies—including 106 Station Master positions.
Although this approval was granted several months ago, the appointment process has been delayed due to inefficiencies among some departmental officers and internal issues within the sub-departments of the Department of Railways. These delays have persisted despite direct intervention by the Ministers.
Furthermore, several recommendations addressing the issue of 5-yearly grade promotions were submitted by the Director General and received by the Department on 07/05/2025. These recommendations are scheduled to be forwarded to the Public Service Commission next week. This timeline has already been communicated to the Station Masters’ Union.
We strongly condemn the decision to proceed with an immediate strike, disregarding the ministerial-level solutions offered and ignoring opportunities for constructive dialogue. Such action—especially amid ongoing efforts to resolve the internal inefficiencies—raises serious concerns regarding the underlying motives. It appears that this may be an attempt to deliberately create disruption for the government and public.
We emphasise that, as the government and the state, all necessary measures will be taken to ensure continuity of railway services and to minimise inconvenience to the public.
