Thursday, July 10, 2008

Marxist party's strike fails to disrupt Sri Lanka

A strike of public sector employees called by the Marxist party failed Thursday to paralyze the country as planned.

The Marxists People's Liberation Front (JVP) hoped up to 200,000 public servants of the 1.1 million government sector employees would strike, crippling transport, health, port and the education sectors, however, most services were operational without a serious disruption.

The government had argued that the trade union action would help the Tamil rebels whom they said were on the verge of being defeated by a strong military campaign underway in the northern part of the country.

In the capital posters sprung up overnight saying the strike would benefit the Tamil rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Earlier Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told parliament that the strike would demoralise the security forces who have made significant gains in the war front by recapturing some of the rebel-controlled areas in the north.

The JVP backed trade unions were demanding a minimum salary increase of 5,000 rupees (46 US dollars) per month for public servants to compensate for the rising cost of living.

read more,
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/news/article_1416134.php

No comments: