A sombre May Day

Sri Lanka marked International Labour Day on a sombre note this year in the throes of an economic crisis unprecedented in living memory. 

May Day in Sri Lanka has for long years been more about political parties demonstrating their prowess, a show of strength and more of a party for the faithful rather than about celebrating the contribution of labour to the economy. This year however, the atmosphere is even gloomier than normal for the working-class people. They are left destitute and desperate and not even the political parties are able to offer a day of respite from the gloom.

The two and a half years of rule by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has devastated the lives of the working-class people in our country. All sectors of the economy have been affected by ill-informed and incompetent governance. Sri Lanka for the first time since independence has defaulted on a sovereign debt, effectively announcing to the world that it is bankrupt. The foreign exchange crisis which was precipitated by the current administration has dragged many middle-class and working-class families into poverty. As the cost of living skyrockets, due to the collapse of the currency, wages have remained stagnant. The most affected are those who cannot determine their own earnings.

The agriculture sector which employs 30% of the workforce has also been devastated by the ban on chemical fertilisers, a feat not attempted anywhere else in the world. It has further exacerbated food prices and increased food insecurity.

Rather than taking responsibility for these mistakes, President Rajapaksa once again attempts to deflect blame. In what could only be called a bizarre message for May Day, the President says, “Instead of following up on who is responsible for the current problematic situation, what we need to do now is to focus on what action can be taken to provide immediate relief to the public, and also to go for the most appropriate and efficient program to find solutions to the burning issues of the people.”

In fact it is the very opposite that should happen. Those who are responsible for the economic calamity should be held accountable and those who are better qualified to handle the crisis should be allowed to manage the recovery. And that responsibility squarely lies with the head of state and no other. In order to do so the most viable constitutional option available is to usher in the 21st Amendment to the Constitution that would abolish the executive presidency and empower parliament. A prime minister and cabinet of ministers accountable to parliament and a president that is appointed via the parliament as a nominal head of state would offer the best political solution to this crisis. In his own words this is the “most efficient program to find solutions” to the current impasse.

The coming months and years will be the most difficult in Sri Lanka’s economic history. As Government spending is reduced there will be many painful outcomes from reforms to State sector enterprises, freezing of recruitment to the public sector to cuts in welfare and subsidies. Such painful, yet necessary measures could only be taken if the electorate trusts its leaders to be acting in the common interest. There is an absolute trust deficit with the whole Rajapaksa family which for good reason is perceived to be severely corrupt. The citizenry cannot be expected to undergo the necessary economic corrections while it believes that the elected leaders are spared of the pain or even worse profiteering during the crisis.

For the working people of Sri Lanka to have a meaningful May Day it is imperative that its elected representatives take necessary measures to place the interest of the electorate at the forefront rather than their political survival and advancement. At least then, in the not so far out future, the working people of this land may finally have something to celebrate on International Workers’ Day.