Chairmen of the United National Party, headed by President Ranil Rajapaksa and Minister Vajira Abeywardena threatens to imprison strikers and confiscate their property.
He says that under the Essential Public Services Act No. 61 of 1979, all movable or immovable property of every person who commits an offence will be confiscated.
Participating in a strike in gazetted essential services is a crime that can be punished, he has emphasised.
Abeywardena warns that President Ranil Wickremesinghe has signed a gazette notification making ports, airports and passenger transport services and related services essential services, also said that prior to engaging in unreasonable strikes and carrying out sabotage, everyone should gain an understanding of how powerful the Public Services Act is.
Under the gazette notification signed by the President, public transport services have been made essential services for passengers or goods, releasing, carriage, loading, storage, distribution and removal of food and beverage goods or coal, oil, fuel from vessels in any port.
Defined for the purposes of the Customs Ordinance (Cap. 235), the provision and maintenance of facilities for transport services by road, rail or air, including highways, bridges, culverts, airports, ports and railways, as essential services with immediate effect, according the Abeywardena.
A person who commits an offense under the Essential Public Services Act and is convicted by a trial shall be liable to imprisonment with hard labour for a term of not less than two years and not exceeding five years or to a fine not less than Rs.2,000 not exceeding Rs.5,000 and Abeywardena has also said that it is clearly stated in the Act that a person could be subjected to both.
Abeywardena has stated further that the provisions of this Act shall prevail regardless of what is stated in the written law and accordingly, and in the event of any conflict or other inconsistency between the provisions of this Act and the provisions of such other written law, it is clearly stated in Clauses 6 and 7 that provisions of this Act shall prevail.
Original report published here