May Day and the plight of Lankan workers - EDITORIAL

This Wednesday is May Day, a day set apart to commemorate the struggles and gains made by workers and labour movements the world over. Very sadly, in our country, workers’ day has been usurped by political parties and gains lost to economic woes.  

Today, workers dance and parade the streets, not to regain their lost rights of the past four to five years. They will carry forward campaigns of diverse political parties hoping to grab power at the yet undeclared elections expected to be held later this year. 

The average monthly household income of the poorest 20% of our population is Rs. 17,572, raised from a meager Rs. 12,500 in March this year. But multiple energy price increases and sales tax hikes in January raised the cost of living and hit wage earners hard.  

The Department of Census and Statistics (Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey Annual Report – 2022) recorded the mean monthly gross salary for the urban and rural sectors for 2022 as Rs. 63,867 and Rs. 44,572, respectively, for monthly earners, while daily earners reportedly earned Rs. 29,545 in the urban sector and Rs. 26,990 in the rural sector.  

In the estate sector workers still do not receive a minimum wage of Rs. 1,000 per day, but is dependent on the weight of the leaves they pick. 
The Advocata Institute’s ‘Bath Curry Indicator’ (BCI) puts the cost of a meal for a family of four at Rs. 2,538 per meal as of January this year. The study is based on what Lankans normally eat and comprises food such as samba rice, beans, pumpkin, tomato, brinjals, dhal, red onion, coconut, green chilli, and fish (balaya). 

In other words, a family of four would need Rs. 152,280 per month if they were to have two wholesome meals per day! The figure does not include the cost of sugar, milk etc.  
Little wonder then that the World Bank in its report estimated over a quarter of our population is now believed to live below the poverty line, which compromises their ability to access sufficient, nutritious food. Another study conducted in May 2023 revealed malnutrition, is particularly high among women and children, with nearly one-third of children under 5 being malnourished.  

In other words families must necessarily cut down on their food intake if they are to spend on children’s education, travel, clothes, medicines or entertainment.  
Political parties are attempting to ride on the backs of the working class to gain political power. Next Wednesday will see a variety of political party leaders demanding higher wages and condemning the high taxes imposed on all manner of goods and services. 

They will also condemn conditions imposed by the International Monetary Fund and exhort workers to back their agendas. Unfortunately, none of these political parties are yet to reveal how they will bring down the cost of living or raise wages. They will also demand that the government does not divest itself of loss-making state-owned businesses (SOEs). 
The Economy Next reveals that between 2005 to 2021, roughly over a 15-year period, state-owned enterprises accumulated losses of 1.8 trillion rupees. 

However, in February this year, State Minister Semasinghe claimed the government had been able to turn around the fortunes of particular loss-making state-owned enterprises. He claimed this was a result of cutting subsidies in enterprises like the Petroleum Corporation and the Electricity Board. He claimed these government institutions had lost around Rs. 743 bn in 2022. 

The problem however, is that ordinary workers and peasants are caught up in a catch-22 situation. They need both electricity and fuel. But low wages means they cannot afford either. Necessarily they cut back on food intake, children’s studies, medical needs and other basics. 

This May Day let our political party and trade union leaders enlighten ‘the people’ on how they will practically tackle these problems. 
Trade union leaders, since the insurgency of 1989 have become mere yes-men to political bosses. It’s time they put the needs of their membership first, rather than look to the crumbs-like directorates in state-owned enterprises-politicians throw them in the aftermath of an election victory.