On 14 March 2025, members of the Postal and Telecommunications Employees' Association and the All Sri Lanka Tamil Speaking Postal Employees' Association held a protest in front of the main post office in Batticaloa town (Batticaloa, Eastern), as part of a nationwide protest, placing several demands, including all vacancies to be filled by the government, promises made by the Minister to be fulfilled, promotions without delay, and the implementation of a new appointment system for the Postal Department.

Supply-chain Risk Briefing

1) Summary On March 14, 2025, the postal and telecommunications workers' union conducted a peaceful protest in Batticaloa, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. As part of nationwide demonstrations, they demanded government action on civil service recruitment, resolution of promotion delays, and introduction of a new appointment system. This is assessed as a low-grade risk.

2) Supply-chain impact

• Batticaloa is a major port city in eastern Sri Lanka, where postal service disruptions could cause delays in processing customs documentation for maritime logistics
• If expanded to a nationwide postal and telecommunications strike, import/export cargo document exchanges and financial transaction processing could be delayed
• Currently in peaceful protest phase, but unresolved union demands could lead to postal service work stoppages
• Regional impact is limited considering the eastern region's share of Sri Lanka's overall logistics network

3) Watch points

• Need to track government acceptance of union demands and negotiation progress
• Monitor expansion of protests to other regions nationwide and implementation of actual work stoppage measures