A group of eight powerful international trade unions packing a membership of some 25 million workers throughout the world yesterday vowed to take up Sri Lanka’s IMF loan request with global lenders in Washington at the end of this month, a top most trade unionist said.
The General Secretary of the Geneva-based IndustriaLL Global Union Atle Hoie said the Sri Lankan request for a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will top the agenda during the Washington talks with global lenders that will include the World Bank among others.
IndustriaLL is the single largest global trade union with a membership of an estimated 50 million.
“In view of the present economic meltdown Sri Lanka has no other option but to seek a cash bailout from the IMF. But on the other hand the global lender should water down the harsh conditions it has placed on the Government to qualify for the bailout simply because it will hurt the poorest of the poor that includes the average wage earner as well”, Hoie said.
He said both the global lenders and the Government should engage with the trade unions and seek ways to get out of the present crisis situation.
“If all three stakeholders choose to go their own way it will be difficult to reach a solution and the situation will only worsen.
The Covid pandemic and the Russian-Ukraine conflict together with mismanagement of the economy could have also attributed to Sri Lanka’s crisis.
Sri Lanka is not alone. There are many more countries that are facing a similar crisis and their governments are finding it hard pressed in finding solutions”, Hoie said.
“Sri Lanka may have to depend on the IMF and other lenders for a few more years to emerge out of the present situation”, he said.
He said the TUs will make every effort to persuade the IMF to release the Sri Lankan loan at the very earliest in order to cushion the hardships that is currently been faced by the masses.
Hoie who was on a two-day visit to the country also held talks with Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardene earlier this week.
He is due to visit India and Bangladesh as part of his South Asian tour.
In a related development on January 8, 182 international economic experts and academics had made a joint appeal to all lenders-bilateral, multilateral and private to share the burden of Sri Lanka’s debt crisis by debt cancellation.
Meanwhile, Nine leading local trade unions belonging to the National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC) have also jointly appealed to the Paris Club on the same issue, Palitha Atukorale- the spokesman for the group said.