Trade unionists and human rights activists have called on the government to reveal the findings of the Mahanama Tilakaratne Investigation Report on the industrial unrest at the Katunayake free trade zone (FTZ).
The Trade Union Alliance (TUA) and the Marxist JVP affiliated Inter Company Employees’ Union (ICEU) held two separate protests yesterday evening against the killing of FTZ employee Roshen Chanaka during a clash between the employees and police during a protest against the proposed private sector pensions bill.
The protests were held to mark the third month since Chanaka’s death and to oppose the government suppression of the working masses.
The unions called for the findings of the report to be made public and to stop the continuous harassment of FTZ employees.
Head of the TUA, Saman Ratnapriya said that although the workers won the battle against the proposed pension scheme for the private sector, Chanaka lost his life and several workers were injured from the attacks and confrontations.
Compensation has not yet been paid to the employees who were injured severely, he said.
ICEU head, Wasantha Samarasinghe said that even three months after Chanaka’s death, the government has failed to look into the welfare of the FTZ workers and grant them compensation.
He said that some injured due to police brutality were still receiving treatment and are facing financial hardships due tot eh government’s failure to pay compensation to them.
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