Sri Lankan police attack striking university employees in Colombo

The Socialist Equality Party (Sri Lanka) condemns the brutal police attack on the protest of striking non-academic Sri Lankan university staff in Colombo on May 12. The protest outside Parliament was one of several similar actions that day in towns near other Sri Lankan universities.

Sri Lankan police use water cannons to disperse the protest by non-academic university employees in Colombo on May 12, 2024

As many as 13,000 non-academic employees of the country’s 17 public universities have been on an indefinite strike since May 2 to demand a 25 percent increase in monthly allowance (MCA) and a 15 percent salary increase to address “salary anomalies.”

The May 12 protest, called by the Non-Academic Trade Union Collective (NATUC), an alliance of several unions, took place near an intersection on the highway leading to Parliament. Over 200 non-academic staff from Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura and Open Universities took part in the action, which was organized as part of NATUC’s attempt to put pressure on the government to comply with their demands.

However, in line with the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) austerity measures, the Wickremesinghe government has ordered police to crack down on any demonstration by workers, students and other oppressed groups who oppose these measures and demand better wages and social conditions.

Police obtained a court order to stop NATUC’s demonstration, deployed over 100 riot police near the intersection and ordered non-academic staff to disperse immediately. When the workers ignored the court’s order, the police attacked with high-pressure water cannons. Some workers suffered eye injuries from the high-speed water cannons that used contaminated water.

Sri Lanka riot police block a road in Colombo to stop the protest by non-academic workers on May 12, 2024

The unprovoked attack was the second violent police attack on university employees this year. During a one-day strike on January 18, police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse staff at the University of Sri Jayawardenepura as they attempted to march toward a road intersection near the campus.

These attacks make it clear once again that the government will not tolerate even limited resistance to its IMF-dictated program. They also highlight the union leadership’s false claims that isolated strikes and protests would force the government to make concessions.

The NATUC leadership earlier told its members that Education Minister Susil Premajayantha had promised to present a cabinet paper on May 12 that would contain proposals to resolve workers’ demands.

However, the cabinet did not agree to the minister’s proposals, but sent them to the treasury for recommendation. The Ministry of Finance is controlled by President Wickremesinghe, who is also Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister.

Three days before the May 12 protests, Wickremesinghe told Parliament that there would be no wage increases for Sri Lankan government employees, including non-academic employees.

“Public sector salary increases cannot be considered until next year, as shown by economic growth in 2024 and corresponding increases in government revenue,” he said. Sri Lanka would face a “major catastrophe” if its government deviated from IMF-dictated policies. In other words, the working class of Sri Lanka must bear the burden of the economic crisis.

Wickremesinghe’s previous announcements that he would solve Sri Lanka’s economic crisis by 2025 are a complete fraud, as are the government and media’s claims of stability. Sri Lanka’s economy is extremely unstable, inflation continues and the government is saddled with a mountain of debt that has grown even further thanks to loans from the IMF.

Non-academic workers demonstrate near the Sri Lanka Higher Education Ministry in Colombo on May 7, 2024

In recent months, workers have protested against the skyrocketing costs of goods and services, wage stagnation, significant cuts to public health and education, and the planned privatization of hundreds of state-owned companies.

The government responded by ordering police to seek court orders to suppress strikes and protests and used the Essential Public Services Act to ban all industrial action in key sectors such as electricity, petroleum, health and postal services. Anyone who violates basic services laws can be severely punished, including dismissal from work, a fine and long prison sentences.

In January this year, the management of the Ceylon Electricity Board, acting on government orders, suspended 62 workers who were involved in a three-day nationwide sick leave campaign from January 3 to 5 to oppose the privatization of the state-owned company. These workers, abandoned by their unions, now face legal action over the protest.

Every section of the working class – from non-academic employees to other sections of the working class, youth and other oppressed sections – faces a political and industrial struggle against the Wickremesinghe regime and its brutal IMF austerity measures.

The only way for non-academic workers or sections of the working class to defend jobs, wages and social conditions is to organize independently of the union leaderships that support the demands of the IMF and defend the capitalist system.

However, the NATUC leadership still incorrectly insists that Education Minister Premajayantha’s cabinet paper could be approved by the Cabinet by May 27 on the recommendation of the Ministry of Finance.

This is a cynical attempt to deceive its members. Eight years have passed since NATUC began its fight against “salary anomalies”. Over that time, it has embroiled non-academic workers in a series of harmless protests and strikes, while claiming that “professional struggles” do not need politics and blocking democratic discussion among members.

The capitalist opposition parties – including Samagi Jana Balavegaya and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna – and all the trade unions are committed to the implementation of the IMF programme. Their action against the government, which is geared towards the upcoming elections, is as fraudulent as Wickremesinghe’s claim that he will solve the economic crisis by 2025.

As our May 1 article – “Letter addressed to Education Minister by non-academic university unions profoundly reveals treacherous role of trade unions” – published on the Sinhala site of the World Socialist Web Site Conditions:

“All rank-and-file non-academic members should demand that a meeting of non-academic workers be called and the union leadership should give space to democratic discussion to formulate a viable program to achieve their demands instead of bankrupt union policies to put pressure on the government.”

Non-academic workers must reject NATUC’s claims that it is possible to put pressure on the government. They should not limit themselves to the inadequate and outdated demand to “end salary anomalies”, but fight for a fair wage based on the cost of living.

This struggle can only be advanced by a united struggle of the working class based on a socialist program against the Wickremesinghe government and its IMF attacks and the capitalist system itself. We call on all non-academic workers to build their own action committees, independent of the union bureaucracy, to advance this fight.

Related Posts

Man threatens SWAT and Winder police with handover of gun

Sony officially unveils PS5 Pro during PlayStation 5 technical presentation

Arcadium Lithium (ALTM) suspends expansion plans due to prices and oversupply