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Navy intervenes to evict strikers from ships
View(s):By Sandun Jayawardena and Chandani Kirinde
Commander leads Naval assault : The Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne, physically persuading a photojournalist to leave the scene of the strike at the Hambantota Port yesterday. The Navy intervened to rescue two ships which the strikers had taken over and our inset picture shows Navy personnel confronting the strikers in front of one of the blocked ships. Pix by Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi
Workers on strike at the Hambantota Port for a fourth day and continued to occupy two foreign container vessels forcing a Navy operation to evict them yesterday.
Later yesterday, the Navy helped one of these ships “Hyperon Highway” to leave the Port. Gantry cranes positioned on the path of the two vessels still impeded their exit. However, one of the vessels was safely escorted out of the port by the Navy last evening.
Navy Commander Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne, who was in civilian attire, led the operation to clear the strikers from the jetty. The Navy established a cordon in the jetty protecting the vessels and deployed boats to ensure there were no further obstructions.
The strike was launched by the Magampura Port Workers Union. They are demanding that some 483 temporary workers be made permanent. On Friday, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa requested Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to grant them permanent status and thus resolve the strike. Ports and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunga told a media briefing yesterday that the strike had been “led by political elements” to obstruct work at the port. He said the majority of the workers had been recruited in 2012 for a ‘training period’ and there had been no plans to recruit them to the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA).
“We could have removed them when we were voted to power. We did not do that,” he said. He added that the Government had negotiated with the Chinese investors to include these workers. “After the strike, I cannot guarantee this,” he said.
The container vessel “Hyperon Highway owned by “K” Line shipping, one of Japan’s largest transportation companies, had on board more than 5,000 motor vehicles. The mooring ropes of this vessel, Port officials in Hambantota said, had been deliberately blocked by forklifts, excavators and gantry cranes.
Meanwhile, there were heated scenes in Parliament yesterday over the manner in which the Government handled the protest by workers at the Hambantota Port with State Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardena describing the blocking of the ships as an “act of piracy.”
Joint Opposition (JO) members raised the issue in Parliament during the Committee Stage debate of the Ministry of Finance. They accused the Government of using the Navy to attack the workers. “Navy personnel have attacked the workers at the Hambantota Port. Naval ratings are beating up the workers with poles. This should be stopped immediately,” JO member Wimal Weerawansa said.
Mr. Wijewardene said the Navy personnel had not attacked the strikers who had taken over two ships that were anchored in the harbour. “The Navy personnel were sent there to rescue the vessels from the strikers. The workers were not shot at or beaten up,” he said.
