Page 22 - Army Commander Lieutenant News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Sri Lankan government mobilises army to break health workers’ strike The Rajapakse government this week mobilised the military to break a national strike by thousands of junior hospital staff who walked out in a sick-leave campaign on February 24–25. The blatant repression of health workers’ democratic right to take industrial action is a serious warning to the entire working class. The deployment, which involved a total of 185 army personnel across almost 15 hospitals, including the Colombo National Hospital, Colombo South, Peradeniya, Gampola, Badulla and Mullaithivu, was initiated by Army Commander Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva . The government falsely claimed that the military strike-breaking was in order to “avoid inconveniencing” the general public during the industrial action. While the deployment was not large enough to replace all the striking workers, it was a clear dress-rehearsal for wider state repression against workers taking industrial action.

North westernSri lankaSri lankanShavendra silvaJanatha vimukthi peramunaCeylon health employees unionMinistry of healthColombo national hospitalDevelopment taskProgressive health worker unionUnited health workers unionFrontline socialist partyArmy commander lieutenantHealth service trade union allianceColombo southArmy commander lieutenant general shavendra