The ongoing postal strike entered its second consecutive day today, with Cabinet Spokesperson Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa emphasising that the strike is largely unnecessary, as only two demands—overtime pay and the mandatory biometric fingerprint attendance system—remain unresolved.
Dr. Jayatissa clarified that out of the 19 demands initially presented by postal workers, 17 have either been addressed or are in the process of being resolved. He highlighted that around 23,000 postal workers are set to receive higher overtime pay in April than they did in March, as overtime calculations are based on the full basic salary expected in January 2027, in line with standard government policy. On the biometric system, he noted that fingerprint machines are already operational in many offices, with only a “very limited number” of staff, mainly at the Central Post Exchange, refusing to comply.
“Overtime cannot be increased, and fingerprint attendance cannot be removed. We will definitely implement this,” Dr. Jayatissa stated, warning that staff unwilling to comply may be reassigned to positions where fingerprint registration is not required. He also suggested that political motivations may underlie the strike, pointing to an influencing group at the Central Post Exchange.
The spokesperson further detailed significant government initiatives for the postal sector, including:
- Recruitment drives approved by Cabinet and the Prime Ministerial committee, with interviews underway.
- Rs. 250 million allocated for increasing vehicles, Rs. 600 million for modernisation and digitalisation of post offices, and Rs. 700 million for renovations.
Dr. Jayatissa urged the public to remain patient amid delays, noting that many sub-post offices and some main post offices remained operational, with only the Central Post Exchange significantly affected. He reiterated that the government will not yield to the strike and reaffirmed its commitment to enforce the existing overtime policy and fingerprint system.
