Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways Prasanna Gunasena says that steps will be taken to temporarily stop the decision to provide train driver training to 20 army officers.
He said that this step was taken after paying attention to the fact that the strike by the train drivers could have an impact on students appearing for the Ordinary Level examination this year.
Expressing further views on the matter, Deputy Minister of Transport Prasanna Gunasena said the following.
“We really condemn this with disgust. Because we know how much the Army helped the Railway Department, the Transport Department, and the Ministry during the last Cyclone Ditva. We have already helped build the railway tracks, and those guys have been helping in building the train engines in Ratmalana for two months now. The Army engineers come and build the culverts, and then we see how much the Army is involved. So, in an emergency like this, we, as a Ministry, have experienced the value of having vocational training for such a group. That is why we decided to provide this training to these 20 people. But nearly four hundred and fifty thousand are facing the Ordinary Level examination this year. If even one child faces any transportation difficulties to pass their cut-off due to unnecessary trade union action, it is not something we can bear. Therefore, we have temporarily deployed the 20 Army officers for this training. “Stopping.”