Alton Estate workers in Sri Lanka confront harsh and worsening social conditions
The ongoing company witch hunt against Alton Estate workers near Maskeliya began early this year in response to workers’ determination to win better wages and improved living conditions. The Alton workers, who walked out on February 2, participated in a one-day national plantation workers’ strike three days later and continued their industrial action until March 22 in protest against estate management harassment.
Twenty-four workers and two youth were then framed up by the company and the police, aided and abetted by the Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC), on false accusations of physically assaulting the estate’s managers. These workers now face a criminal court trial. The Horana Plantation Company, which runs Alton Estate, has sacked a total of 38 workers, including those to be tried, without conducting any investigation or allowing any right of appeal against its dictates.
Sri Lanka: Alton workers’ action committee defends victimised colleagues
The Action Committee of Alton Estate Workers (ACAEW) passed a resolution last week appealing to workers and youth throughout Sri Lanka and internationally to support its fight against the estate management’s witch hunt.
On March 22, the Horana Plantation Company sacked 38 workers at its Alton Estate, near Upcot in central plantation district. The workers were falsely accused of assaulting the manager and assistant manager at the estate.
Twenty-four workers and two youth have also been arrested and charged over the same allegations and now face trial. The victims have all vehemently denied the accusations.
Sri Lankan plantation company terminates 38 Alton estate workers
The Horana Plantation Company (HPC) in Sri Lanka, which runs the Alton estate, has sacked 38 workers, alleging they were involved in a physical assault on the estate’s manager and assistant manager. This is a blatant attack on the democratic rights of the Alton workers, and more broadly a warning to the entire working class.
On March 22, HPC management issued letters to the 38 workers informing them of the punishment being imposed. A Tamil-language version of the letter said they were “suspended” from their jobs. Union bureaucrats also told the victimised workers that they had been “suspended.”