Prima employees on hunger strike

Saman INDRAJITH

COLOMBO: Employees of the Prima Company backed by the Inter Company Employees Union (ICEU) marched from the Prima Head Office in Rajagiriya to Labour secretariat Narahenpita yesterday demanding the reinstatement of 1600 dismissed by the Company.

"Prima Company has violated the labour laws and employees' rights to organise at their workplace and sacked 1600 workers arbitrarily. This act violates the workers' rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

The ILO conventions 87 and 98 ratified by the Sri Lankan Government too ensure the right of the workers to organize as a union in their workplace.

Authorities of the Prima Ceylon Grain Elevators (Pvt) Ltd had acted on their will to dismiss 1600 workers who organised themselves without violating the country's laws," General Secretary of the ICEU, JVP MP Wasantha Samarasinghe told a press conference held at Hotel Nippon in Colombo yesterday morning.

"We demand the justice from Labour Commissioner and Labour Minister against the unconstitutional action taken by Prima authorities.

The employees who were dismissed must be reinstated with immediate effect," Samarasinghe said.

The employees picketed opposite the Labour Ministry and later in the afternoon commenced a hunger strike opposite the Prima Company's Head office in Rajagiriya.

"We will fight till our demands are met and this hunger strike action would continue till the company authorities revoke their arbitrary move of firing 1600 workers," MP Samarasinghe said.

Prima is a leading manufacturer of animal food in the country. The workers of the Prima Ceylon Grain Elevators (Pvt) Ltd demand a Rs. 2500 salary increase, a Rs. 1000 transport allowance and a Rs. 2500 incentive.

The company has imported new machinery from Canada to enhance production. Deputy Secretary of ICEU, P. Hettiarchchi said the management has pruned workers' overtime and public holiday work after the new machine was installed and began production. The company has promised a wage increase of 10% but it has not materialised yet, he alleged.