Duminda Nagamuwa, Organizing Secretary of the Center for Workers’ Struggle, says that the gazette notification to enforce the state of emergency is a death warrant for working people and a boon to exploiters.
He says that the government has taken steps to take away the trade union rights of the working people in this country through a special gazette notification issued on the 30th of August stating that it will intervene to control the prices of goods by enforcing the state of emergency.
He also alleges that the rumor that the prices of goods are being controlled as announced by the government through the gazette notification has become a complete nonsense.
Through this Gazette Notification, Samurdhi Officers, Grama Niladharis, Agricultural Research Assistants, Field Level Officers working in Ports Authority, Petroleum Corporation, Sri Lanka Railway Department, Transport Board, Institutions related to Essential Maintenance and Security, District Secretariats, Divisional Secretariats , All Banks and Insurance Institutions including the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Garbage Management Employees working in Local Government Institutions, CWE, Co-operative Wholesale Corporation, Department of Food Commissioner, Department of Co-operative Development, Co-operative Societies and Paddy Marketing Board, Ceylon Sugar Limited Duminda Nagamuwa says that these essential service orders have affected all employees of private companies, all office workers working under the Provincial Councils, all employees working in the health service and employees of the Postal Department.
According to the gazette notification, if a person refuses to work, refuses to do a part of the work, fails to do so, refuses to call for work even on a holiday, and does not leave the service with the collective intent for a strike or organized action. If they leave the service, do not show up for work or join a strike, they will be fired immediately. In addition, he is found guilty of an offense.
According to him, to hunt down trade union leaders and activists, it is stated elsewhere that inciting, encouraging, encouraging, presenting any documents on strike action to block a person from coming to work, all these are punishable offenses. Stated through the Gazette Notification.
He points out that the above, whether or not the strike took place, is to blame for those who intervened, and that this could be considered the largest repressive crackdown on working people in the country in recent history.
He emphasized that the working people should understand that the government is preparing to suppress all public servants through this.
Although the government says it is committed to buying food items in warehouses at government guaranteed prices or at customs prices to protect public order, it is as if the government, which does not think of public peace when it loses the jobs of working people, is snatching away the property of wholesalers who oppress the people of this country. Do it very subtly, he seems to be interested, he adds.
Duminda Nagamuwa stated this at a media briefing held in the city yesterday (06).
Shani