The Sri Lankan Airline management has condemned the action of the Airline Pilots Guild of Sri Lanka (ALPGSL) trade union action to work to the letter.
However A senior spokesman for the ALPGSL said the strike was prompted by the failure of the SriLankan Airlines administration to provide a fair solution to its demands.
Accordingly, the pilots of SriLankan Airlines will only perform the flight duties assigned to them on their flight list and will refrain from performing duties on approved annual and other public holidays, the senior spokesman said.
He said SriLankan Airlines did not have enough pilots to run the flight frequently. However, its members had so far reported for duty without any hesitation, even disregarding annual leave and other approved holidays to fill the gap.
He also said they had extended their fullest support to the airline by approving even changes to their to-do list for the month.
He said his membership was committed to flying to any country and repatriating Sri Lankans, regardless of the risk to themselves or their family members. He added that they were committed to their duty, even in the face of epidemics, because they put the national interest first.
He further said that SriLankan Airlines has been making a monthly profit with increased passenger arrivals, but the unresolved response to its demands is not an acceptable situation.
The senior spokesman added that the trade union action of ‘work-to-rule’ would continue until the pilots get a fair solution.
SriLankan Airlines has been supporting the national economy and country since the closure of the Bandaranaike International Airport in March 2020 with the outbreak of COVID-19 by flying stranded Sri Lankans home and facilitating international trade by maintaining the vital link between Sri Lanka and the rest of the world.
Nearly the entire fleet of the Airline was grounded due to the closure of airports and travel restrictions imposed by various countries in the past nine months.
As a result, the Airline has had to cope with unprecedented revenue losses owing to the reduced number of flights being operated, namely for repatriation of fellow citizens and transportation of essential goods including medical supplies.
It is against this stressful backdrop that members of the executive committee of the Airline Pilots‛ Guild (ALPG) have decided to act in a self-centered manner, not only causing severe disruptions to the Airline‛s operations but jeopardizing the Airline as well as the development efforts of the country.
The ALPG has forced members to resort to unacceptable action by refraining from consenting to report to work on rostered off-days by refusing the duty call or being unresponsive to calls from the Company.
Therefore, the Board and the Management of the Airline are thoroughly disappointed that one segment of the Airline‛s employees is intentionally undermining the efforts of the rest of the committed and valuable employees of the company and the determination of the Government of Sri Lanka.
Jointly, the Board, Management and dedicated employees of the Airline vehemently condemn these untimely and selfish actions of the ALPG.
