workers demand
SRI LANKA.
incluaing women riot police for the first time, tried to prevent them reaching the union hall. When they were finally allowed in, the police then moved in and blocked off the union headquarters.
The workers then faced three choices:
compensation for victims of July violence of violence that swept the island of Sri Lanka last July left many workers homeless and jobless. and looting were some of the largest workplaces in and around the capital Colombo (International Viewpoint, No 36, September 19, 1983).
One of the factories destroyed was the Cyntex textile factory, employing over 600 women. These workers are organised in a branch of the Ceylon Mercantile Union (CMU). Penny DUGGAN
In common with other workers who lost their jobs in the 'Black Week', these workers have received no compensation from the government, other than meagre food rations, nor wages from the employers. The Cyntex management is now trying to set up under a new name and rehire workers as individuals. This move is aimed to break up the union organisation that exists - 662 Cyntex women workers form the only all-women branch of the CMU and had recently won a 100 per cent pay rise. The women are picketing the site of the new factory.
The Cyntex women are not the only workers suffering as a result of the antiTamil pogroms. The CMU alone counts 1,824 members who lost their jobs as a result of the violence, while a number of others lost their homes and possessions. Three members were also killed in the riots.
On December 9, 1983, the CMU wrote to President Jayewardene asking him and other members of the govenment to come and meet the members of the CMU still without jobs to explain 'what you government is prepared to do for them in their present plight, and hear what they may have to say in that regard.'
The letter explained that:
1,824 CMU members lost their jobs,
- Only 317 have been provided with work in the establishments affected,
- 32 workers have received a monthly allowance equivalent to half their wages from the employer,
Although the employers have not received permission from the Commissioner of Labour to terminate employment they have not paid wages since July, claiming they are unable to do so,
Employers are trying to lay down new conditions adverse to the workers, for rehiring them when production can resume,
- The government has not given any financial assistance although it has been promised 100 million US dollars from the World Bank,
•- 1107 of the workers affected are women.
The invitation, which was also extended to the leader of the opposition party, 24
Among the places destroyed in fire representatives of the security forces and the Commissioner of Labour, asked the government representatives to meet the workers at Galle Face Green, a stretch of open land, between 9 am and 1 pm on December 15, 1983.
The union called on its members to assemble first in the union hall, from which they would march to Galle Face Green. Union organisers expected around 750 of the jobless workers. these workers, without any income for six months, had to return to their homes in villages away from Colombo, and would face expensive travel cost. though the union offered to assist those who needed it, they expected this would constitute an insurmountable barrier for
In the end, 1,135 workers showed up, 850 of them women, none of whom asked for travel assistance. Armed police, to leave the hall and move away to the south, away from Galle Face Green, to stay in the hall, have the lunch donated by other union members, then disperse, confront police and try to go to the Green.
The workers decided unanimously on the third course of action, and moved out of the hall, led by the women workers. The police blocked off the street in which the building was situated, keeping the workers bottled up. The women used this opportunity to address the police, visibly shaking their confidence and forcing them to admit that they were sympathetic and 'only carrying out orders. The determination of the CMU workers to stick to a nonviolent course of action ensured that the two-and-a-half hour confrontation remained peaceful, until the police allowed them to disperse.
At the same time other CMU members took solidarity action - picketing outside their workplaces or holding lunchtime meetings on the theme "Solidarity with worker victims of July violence.
The CMU have now filed a complaint with the Supreme Court, protesting against the denial of their fundamental rights, that is, their freedom of movement.
The confidence the women won from this episode was illustrated by their decision to celebrate March 8 this year as a real International Working Women's Day — a May Day for women as it was dubbed.
The CMU women's section called a halfday strike and women-only demonstration for March 8, to be followed by a mixed rally. Again the police tried to prevent the demonstration, only granting permission for it that morning, although it had been planned for the afternoon.
A meeting of the displaced workers, those jobless as a result of the July violence, took place in the morning, and from this the women were able to organise a demonstration - the first to take place under the Emergency Powers Act in force, except for the traditional May 1 demonstration. The work stoppage also went ahead, with larger units striking and smaller ones taking leave.
This is the first time that women workers in Ceylon have been at the forefront of mass actions, or have organised women-only initiatives.
The CMU is asking for support and financial aid for the displaced workers, the majority of whom are women, and for their case to be made widely known throughout the international labour and women's movements. For more information write to: Ceylon Mercantile Union, No 3, 22nd Lane, Kollupitaya, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
International Viewpoint 23 April 1984