President declares more as essential services

President Ranil Wickremesinghe last night signed a Gazette notification declaring a host of activities as essential services.

They are public transports services for passengers or goods, discharge, carriage, landing, storage, delivery and removal of articles of food or drink, or coal, oil, fuel from vessels within any port as defined for the purposes of the Customs Ordinance (Chapter 235),  the provision and maintenance of facilities for transport services by road, rail or air, including roads, bridges, culverts, airports, ports and railway lines.

The move comes ahead of countrywide strike threatened by trade unions tomorrow as a mark of protest against high taxes, rising cost of living and postponement of LG elections.