Ha…ho over trade unions
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Walk on the streets, drive on the roads or be a bus passenger, an everyday event in Colombo is that trade unions have taken over the streets.Not a day passes without one or two trade unions protesting and demanding their rights. Bankers, garment workers, pensioners, university academics or non-academics, unemployed graduates, teachers, principals, doctors and health-related workers, engineers, postal workers, senior public servants ……you name it and they are on the street, fighting for a right!
This week was also one of those ‘hooray’ weeks for the government after it clinched delayed debt repayment deals with official and bilateral creditors, with the administration going overboard to celebrate this event.
Trade union protests and the inconvenience caused to bystanders were among the topics on Thursday during a phone conversation with Dosai Danny – my vetti-clad friend from Trincomalee, reconnecting after a long time.
“I say……I was drenched by the water cannons fired at the protest by teachers yesterday,” he said.
“What were you doing at a teachers’ protest,” I asked.
“Well I was passing that way and out of curiosity stopped to see what they were protesting about and it became a case of ‘curiosity kills the cat’,” he said, laughing. But on a more serious note he added that these protests cause a lot of inconvenience to passing motorists, workers and bystanders.
“With protests mounting by the day, it would be interesting to see how the National People’s Power (NPP), if they succeed at a presidential or parliamentary poll, handles this situation since they are supportive of trade union protests and won’t crush them unlike any other administration,” I said.
“It is also interesting that people ‘fall’ sick and publicly take part in protests in these sick leave protests and no action is taken against them. Sri Lanka must probably be the only country where people report sick to take part in trade union activity,” he said.
“This is now ingrained in Sri Lankan culture. There are two kinds of views on trade union protests: One view from the public is that it inconveniences people, with bystanders often getting trapped when teargas or water cannons are fired. Protestors on the other hand say they cannot win their demands if they don’t protest,” I said. I then wished Dosai and promised to meet up with him on a future date in Trincomalee.
On the subject of trade unions, there was an interesting event last week in Colombo, where a trade union leader was felicitated on 50 years of active work as a trade unionist.
The event to celebrate years of trade union activism was for Anton Marcus, Joint Secretary of the Free Trade Zone and General Services Employees Union (FTZGSE). This gathering included Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardene, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, veteran trade union leader Leslie Devendra and NPP trade union leader Wasantha Samarasinghe. There was also journalist Kusal Perera who wrote a book on Anton’s beginnings and achievements – both locally and internationally.
A few weeks before that, on May 29, Leslie Devendra marked 60 years of trade union activism at an event graced by President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
At the event, Leslie, now 80 years old, said: “When I initially ventured into trade unions, many advocated for the destruction of the capitalist class. However, I disagreed with this approach. Observing how socialist regimes, upon assuming power, furthered the capitalist economic system, I recognised the necessity of positioning workers within a capitalist framework. Thus, I diverged from the rhetoric of dismantling capitalism and instead championed the idea that ‘a prosperous company is a satisfied group of employees’.”
Leslie’s Nidahas Sevaka Sangamaya, which some years ago broke away from its patron – the Sri Lanka Freedom Party – and now functions as an independent unit, is one of the largest trade union movements today with 80,000 members. “We are a silent union and don’t get publicity or media coverage as we believe in negotiating our rights. So far, we have signed 65 collective agreements with state and private entities,” he told this column.
Back to Anton’s celebration – it was stated at the event that Anton first joined the Ceylon Mercantile Union (CMU), whose legendary General Secretary was the late Bala Tampoe. He served as Anton’s mentor as well as for Leslie.
Bala was a Tamil of Jaffna origin and spoke fluent English, Sinhala and Tamil, commanding the respect of all communities including the business community. I wonder what Bala’s views would be about today’s trade union movement which is constantly involved in street battles with the police, amidst government efforts to suppress them.
While Anton’s career has come a long way from the time he rode a bicycle on initial trade union work, he is also involved in many international bodies. According to Robert Reid, former President/Gen. Secretary of New Zealand’s First Trade Union, who spoke at the felicitation ceremony, Anton’s work in organising workers in the free trade zones is unique in Sri Lanka.
“Many countries tried this but failed,” he said, adding that Anton was recognised as a key strategist by IndustiALL (a global trade union representing over 50 million workers in 140 countries).
In recent times, trade union leaders have been campaigning for the resumption of the National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC), a tripartite body representing workers, employers and the state. The NLAC, which resolves many problems of workers, hasn’t met for many months, an issue that has irked trade unions.
Walking towards the kitchen, I could see the trio in their usual Thursday morning ‘action’ – conversing under the margosa tree. They were discussing the same topic; trade unions.
“Mama eeye eh paththey yanakota, guruwarungey virodathavaya dekka. Prabala wathura thuwakku walin samaharunta thuvala wuna, mokada tikak thada praharayak (I was passing by and watched the teachers protest yesterday. It was somewhat brutal as many got injured by the powerful water cannons),” said Serapina, adding that she was visiting a friend when this happened.
“Mae virodatha samahara vita minisunta karadarayak, mokada paaraval wahala, wena wena paaraval walin yanna wena nisa. Anith eka ahaka inna minissuth thuvala wenna puluwan wathura thuwakku, kandulu gas saha baton polu pahara-walin (But these protests also inconvenience people as roads are sometimes closed and the public has to take other routes. Also anyone passing by can get injured by water cannons, tear gas or a baton charge),” noted Mabel Rasthiyadu.
“Prashney thiyenney, mae getalu katha karala visanda ganney nethi nisa-ney. Mama hithanney, aanduwa varadiei kiyala (The problem is that these issues are not resolved through negotiations and there, I think, the government is at fault),” said Kussi Amma Sera.
As I neared the end of my column, my reflections today were on the need to increase collective bargaining, the kind of trade union activism practiced by some trade unions. Street protests should only be a last resort – though that might be the case in many instances.
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