SRI LANKAN workers went on strike Wednesday (1) in defiance of a government ban to protest a rescue plan for the bankrupt island nation, forcing the closure of hospitals, banks and ports.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe is facing a public backlash over steep tax hikes and spending cuts imposed to secure a sorely needed International Monetary Fund bailout.
Around 40 trade unions, including government hospital staff and bank employees, called work stoppages.
Doctors at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka in Colombo said only emergency cases were being treated, while appointments were cancelled at private clinics and hospitals.
Electricity workers and bank tellers were also on strike while dock workers staged lunchtime protests at the capital's port.
Wickremesinghe used his executive powers on Tuesday (28) to effectively outlaw strikes by compelling "essential services" to remain at work, and government workers defying the order risk losing their jobs.
Union leaders said they were told by Wickremesinghe last week that he cannot reduce income taxes as it was a condition of the IMF to release a bailout package.
Haritha Aluthge of the Government Medical Officers' Association told reporters in Colombo that his union planned to continue its industrial action.
"A token one-day protest is not going to sway the authorities," he said. "We will have to take stronger action."
Sri Lanka sought IMF help after defaulting on its $46 billion foreign government debt last April but is waiting for financial assurances from China, its largest single bilateral creditor, that it is willing to take a haircut on loans to the South Asian nation.
Sri Lanka's unprecedented economic crisis since late 2021 has caused severe shortages of food, fuel and medicines and led to months of protests that toppled president Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July.
Wickremesinghe, who was elected by parliament to replace Rajapaksa, says the economy contracted by 11 percent last year and the island will remain bankrupt until at least 2026.
He has also announced that the country did not have money to finance a local government election which was scheduled for March 9, prompting accusations that he was using the economic crisis to stifle democracy.
(AFP)
Dharavi slum in Mumbai
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Man pleads not guilty to murder of BBC presenter's family
A 26-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering the wife and two daughters of BBC sports commentator John Hunt in a crossbow and knife attack.
Kyle Clifford, who also faces charges of rape, appeared via video link at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday.
Clifford, arrested in July after a manhunt, is charged with three counts of murder, one count each of rape and false imprisonment, and two counts of possessing offensive weapons – a 10-inch knife and a crossbow.
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session.
He is expected to enter a plea for that charge at a later date.
The victims were Carol Hunt, 61, wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28.
An earlier hearing revealed that Louise had been found tied up and that both she and her sister had been shot with a crossbow, while their mother had been stabbed with a knife.
The fatal attack occurred at the family’s home in Bushey, a commuter town near Watford, northwest of London.
(With inputs from AFP)