triking Holcim workers in Sri Lanka occupy cement plants
Sri Lanka: Nearly 500 contract workers at two Holcim Lanka cement
plants in the towns of Puttalam and Galle in Sri Lanka have been on
strike since 19 May 2014 demanding job permanency, better wages and
improved working conditions. The striking workers and their families are
occupying the cement plant premises. The Inter Company Employees Union
(ICEU) called the strike. The protesters at the Puttalam plant have
blocked the main gate, halting the transport of cement. The company and
contractors are trying to break the picket with the help of Sri Lanka’s
president Mahinda Rajapaksa. The government is determined to end the
strike and has deployed police and the riot squad.
The police are threatening to arrest union leaders and activists. On 1
June 2014 the striking contract workers and their families at the
Puttalam and Galle plants were attacked by hired thugs with swords and
clubs, allegedly organised by the local ruling party politicians. At the
Puttalam plant nine people, including an eight year old girl, were
injured and sent to hospital. Four are still hospitalised. Protestors
asked for police protection, who were present during the attack, but
their appeals were allegedly refused. At the Galle plant one protester
was injured. The mother of the eight year old girl who was injured said
that her daughter had been thrown to the ground by the thugs. “I’m
afraid for my husband, who has been working for eight years as a
contract worker. That’s why we joined the protest.”
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