The strike at the People’s Bank and Bank of Ceylon (BoC) was temporarily called off following a meeting with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday evening, Ceylon Bank Employees' Union (CBEU) Senior Vice President Keshara Kottegoda said.
Speaking to the Daily News yesterday, he said the President during the meeting, it was agreed to direct the Chairmen of the two banks to hold an investigation on the removal of Senarath Bandara and Rasitha Gunawardana from the General Manager posts of the BoC and the People’s Bank respectively.
“The President agreed that the procedure of removal was irregular. He also assured that any new appointments would have to follow the ‘fit and proper’ criteria laid down by the Central Bank. He said that the opinion of all relevant stakeholders would be sought prior to such appointments. Following the meeting with the President, we also discussed with Secretary to the President Dr.P.B.Jayasundera and sorted out the technical matters,” he commented.
He said the Secretary to the President has communicated to Finance Ministry Secretary S.R. Attygalle on the above agreements yesterday.
Kottegoda, however, said the trade union action of non-cooperation would be continued till the matter is resolved. “We will not be performing any additional responsibilities or extra work. We will try to minimize the inconveniences caused to the customers from it. The banking activities will resume as usual on Tuesday,” he said.
Replacing the incumbent officers, two acting General Managers were appointed to the Bank of Ceylon and the People’s Bank last week.
The Trade Unions decried that the sudden removal was due to political influence.
Many branches of the two state banks were closed for business yesterday as the employees launched a strike against the decision.
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