Colombo (TIP): Nearly 1,000 trade unions in Sri Lanka staged a one-day nationwide strike on April 28 demanding the immediate resignation of the government, including President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister MahindaRajapaksa, over its failure to tackle the country’s unprecedented economic crisis. Sri Lanka is currently in the throes of unprecedented economic turmoil since its independence from Britain in 1948.
The crisis is caused in part by a lack of foreign currency, which has meant that the country cannot afford to pay for imports of staple foods and fuel, leading to acute shortages and very high prices. The unions from a number of sectors, including the state service, health, ports, electricity, education and postal joined the strike under the theme ‘Bow to the people – government go home’, urging the President, the Prime Minister and the government to ‘go home’. Teachers’ trade union spokesman Joseph Stalin said that the Rajapaksa government tries to hang on to power when the people have got into the streets and demanded them to go. Ravi Kumudesh from the health workers’ trade union said that after Thursday’s strike, they would give the government a week to resign. (PTI)