More than 200 workers and their children rallied in support of the fired Ansell workers. Striking for justice for their wrongfully dismissed colleagues, workers are paying a high price through financial difficulties and social problems. But the clear message is that a year later, the struggle to reinstate the workers continues at full force.
The conflict at the Ansell factory, where they produce surgical and industrial gloves, in one of Sri Lanka’s free trade zones has seen 294 workers out of a job for a year. The workers were fired when striking in support of eleven sacked colleagues and trade union representatives.
The Supreme Court has instructed Ansell to negotiate a settlement with the trade union FTZGSEU, which the company blatantly refuses to do.
IndustriALL Global Union general secretary Jyrki Raina says the support for the struggling workers remains unwavering:
IndustriALL is committed to achieve a fair resolution which sees the nearly 300 workers reinstated. It is high time for Ansell to step up and end these people’s plight.