All trade unions of the Department of Wildlife Conservation have launched a trade union action today (13), with members reporting sick leave in protest against the government’s proposed integration of Civil Security Department personnel into the Wildlife Conservation Department.
As part of the industrial action, a large-scale protest was also held outside the Department of Wildlife Conservation headquarters in Battaramulla.
Speaking to the media, President of the All Ceylon Wildlife Ranger Officers’ Association, Indika Peiris, alleged that the Director General of the Department was proceeding with the recruitment process in a manner that could adversely affect officers currently serving in the department.
He stressed that the unions are not opposed to recruiting Civil Security Department personnel but object to the proposed recruitment procedure and have requested discussions to address their concerns.
“We informed the Director General that we are not against the recruitment. However, we wanted an opportunity to discuss the shortcomings of the proposed process. Despite this, the recruitment is being carried out unilaterally without consultation. This will affect not only field assistants and secondary-level officers, but also wildlife rangers, range assistants, range guards and other officers in the department,” Peiris said.
He further claimed that repeated requests for discussions before July 13 had not been accommodated, prompting the unions to proceed with today’s protest and sick leave campaign.
Responding to an inquiry by Ada Derana, Director General of Wildlife Conservation Ranjan Marasinghe said discussions had already been offered to address the concerns raised by employees.
He also stated that the Ministry of Environment has appointed a committee to examine the proposed integration of Civil Security Department personnel into the Wildlife Conservation Department, and that the committee will determine the future course of action after reviewing the matter.
