After the Strike Threat, What Next for the CEB Drama?

The fireworks promised by the CEB unions have cooled, but don’t be fooled—this story is far from over. The government has quietly pushed its “preliminary transfer plan” through the system, slicing up the once-mighty Ceylon Electricity Board into six shiny new companies. On paper, it looks neat: generation here, transmission there, distribution somewhere else. In reality, it’s chaos waiting to happen.

The unions grumble that a trillion-rupee behemoth with 22,000 workers is being reduced to a 10-page memo, with no serious consultation and no labour experts in sight. The ILO has already been dragged in, and whispers are that even the IMF might be asked to weigh in on worker rights.

So what happens next? Three possibilities are being whispered in canteens and corridors:

Smooth Sailing – The government rams it through, the new companies take shape, and the unions settle for guarantees on salaries and pensions.

Slow Burn – Grey areas pile up, workers feel sidelined, and mini-protests keep surfacing for months, keeping the government on edge.

Full Showdown – If the ILO and IMF spotlight the workers’ case, the unions could regroup and reignite a bigger fight, dragging the restructuring into the political battlefield.

For now, the strike drums have gone quiet. But the gossip is this: the silence won’t last. The CEB unbundling may look like a technocrat’s dream, but it’s shaping up to be a political time bomb.