A strike at the state-owned Milco company, which started on December the 9th, has ended after intervention from the President of Sri Lanka, who held talks with a Buddhist monk, representing the strikers.
A representative from the Milco branch of the Sri Lanka Nidahas Sevaka Sangamaya, a trade union on the island, stated,
“We suspended our strike action for one month after Ven. Murethtuve Ananda mediated on our behalf with President Mahinda Rajapaksa who promised to resolve our concerns very soon. Our three demands have been directed to an arbitration board and would be settled within a month during which all strike action is prohibited.”
The strike had so far cost Rs. 300 million, reported the Milco chairman, who previously stated that a government policy of buying milk from farmers, a rise in fuel prices and unfulfilled promise of allocated funds from the government budget had also contributed to the losses.
See our previous posts:
Rs. 200 million losses for state-owned Milco (28 December 2013)
| Severe milk powder shortage due to ‘multinational companies’ – Milco (25 December 2013) Government buys up local milk (10 May 2012) Mahinda and Basil decide to expand fertiliser subsidies (21 May 2012)
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