Sri Lanka Marxist party union re-commences salary struggle

The National Trade Union Center (NTUC) affiliated to Sri Lanka's Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) says it would have to re-commence the struggle to win a salary increase for the working masses.
The NTUC is to commence a series of protests at work places from today (21) as the first step of the agitation campaign. NTUC Head and JVP politburo member, K.D. Lalkantha said that the people have been burdened with massive price hikes from all around following the increase in fuel prices. He told ColomboPage that the government has to take immediate measures to address the needs of the people and that subsidies were not the answer to the problem. "The government has only two options to address the current crisis, which is to increase the salaries of the working masses in line with the cost of living or to reduce the prices," he said. He added that protests would commence from noon today outside several state owned institutions as the first step of the struggle. The protests are to be held throughout the week.