ISLAMABAD/COLOMBO: Sri Lankan health, port, railway, and other state employees were on a daylong strike on Wednesday to protest against the sharp rise in income tax and electricity charges as the island nation awaits approval of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) package to aid its bankrupt economy.
Most government hospitals nationwide suspended their outpatient clinics because nurses, doctors, and pharmacists were on strike. The railways operated fewer trains, and soldiers guarded carriages and train stations, fearing sabotage.
Trade unions say the rise in taxes and electricity charges have targeted them hard amid difficulties from the country’s worst economic issues. They have threatened to extend the strike indefinitely if the government fails to address their demands.
Govt says was compelled to increase taxes
The Sri Lankan government says it was compelled to increase taxes to strengthen state revenue and electricity charges to cover production costs, essential prerequisites to unlocking the proposed 2.9 billion-dollar IMF package. Authorities say they operated some trains and most state banks despite the strike.
Kristalina Georgieva, IMF Managing Director, said last week the fund’s board would meet on March 20 to consider the final approval of Sri Lanka’s bailout package after China gave crucial debt restructuring assurances.
Sri Lanka announced the previous year it was suspending repayment of its foreign loans amid severe foreign currency issues that resulted in shortages of fuel, medicines, food, and cooking gas, along with long power cuts. The issues led to street protests that forced then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country and resign.
