Dabindu Collective successfully concluded the first of a series of SRHR teach-outs for workers in Katunayake FTZ on Sunday the 12th of May 2024, in collaboration with Dr S.R.S.C. Silva from the Seeduwa Medical Health Office (MOH).

WATCH: As the world’s eyes are on #Paris2024, women who make @Nike gear are calling on the company to ensure living wages for workers in its supply chain. "We are strong women. We deserve better. The Olympics wouldn’t be the same without us." #NikeInEquality @Asia_floorwage

Here are the Olympic Heroes we haven't met: Leni, Nur, Dinar, Nisa, Nursya, Nia, Frischa, Nde & Oshin are the unsung heroes behind Nike's gear. They produce 250 pairs of shoes a day - and are paid six dollars/day. @global_labor https://t.co/bSeLvMVCJF #FightTheHeist #Olympics

New release! Check out our newsletter for the latest updates on workers' rights, including the Working Women’s May Day, our May Day demands against a failing government, and more. https://t.co/s5o3kAV5hp https://t.co/Dg8fxlv9eW

புதிய வெளியீடு! உழைக்கும் பெண்களின் மே தினம், தோல்வியடைந்த அரசாங்கத்திற்கு எதிரான எங்கள் மே தின கோரிக்கைகள் மற்றும் தொழிலாளர்களின் உரிமைகள் பற்றிய சமீபத்திய புதுப்பிப்புகளுக்கு எங்கள் செய்திமடலைப் பார்க்கவும். https://t.co/Dg8fxlv9eW

නව නිකුතුව! වැඩ කරන කාන්තා මැයි දිනය, අසාර්ථක පාලන ක්‍රමයන් හමුවේ අපගේ මැයි දින ඉල්ලීම් ඇතුළුව, කම්කරු අයිතිවාසිකම් පිළිබඳ නවතම තොරතුරු සඳහා අපගේ පුවත්පත බලන්න. https://t.co/s5o3kAUxrR #mayday #womenworkersresist

Is there another way? Debt restructuring, the IMF and the future of Sri Lanka. Register here: https://t.co/DsuUPelyBe

Zoom හරහා සම්බන්ධවන්න. #unite #එක්වෙමු https://t.co/Ygsafrbsks

ආර්ථික පරිවර්තන පනත යනු මෙම ආණ්ඩුවේ මර්දන නීති අතරින් තවත් එකකි. එහි ප්‍රතිවිපාක වෙළඳ කලාපවලට දශක ගණනාවක් බලපාන්න නියමිතයි. පනත සහ එහි නිදහස් වෙළඳ කලාප සේවකයන්ට වන බලපෑම ගැන දැන ගන්න 06.06.2024 දින ප.ව. 8ට Zoom හරහා සම්බන්ධවන්න. /1

Say his name: Roshen Chanaka. 🚩 We demand justice for the death of Roshen Chanaka! 🚩 We demand justice for those of the resistance who were severely injured! 🚩 We demand the reversal of the cuts to workers' only savings, EPF/ETF, in 2022! #nomoreimf #pensioncuts

It had been only 4 months since Roshen Shanaka, who was among thousands of protestors, had started working in the Katunayake Zone. The police fired, he was shot and injured and was taken to hospital, where he died two days later. The government withdrew its proposal.

The police opened fire on this protest of unarmed workers. Around 400 workers were injured.

Due to the government's failure to find an acceptable solution to the existing workers' objections, on the 30th of May, 2011, Katunayake FTZ workers intensified their resistance against the government by blocking the roads leading to the airport and the Zone.

The proposal was a daylight robbery of the pension funds (much like the cuts implemented in 2023). Workers across the country protested for several days.

Thirteen years ago on the 30th of May, the Katunayake Freedom Trade Zone became the landmark for the worker's struggle against the proposed cuts to the workers pension scheme brought by the then President Mahinda Rajapakse-led government, under the 2009 IMF agreement.

13 years since the murder of Roshen Chanaka. His mother still seeks justice for her son, who put his life on the line and died for the workers' resistance. 🧵

රොෂේන් චානක: කම්කරුවන් වෙනුවෙන් දිවි දුන් පුතුට යුක්තිය සොයන මවගේ ඉල්ලීම https://t.co/buU3RoRnSE

8/ Workers have to endure issues in boarding houses including the lack of separate washing spaces for men and women, open washing spaces so there is no privacy and safety, dilapidated and unmaintained washrooms and toilets.

7/There still are factories, where workers have to handle toxic substances, and do not provide PPE like gloves and masks. Pregnant workers are treated the same as any other workers, for example, they have to use washrooms with squatting pan even when they are 8-months pregnant.

6/ There are some factories that provide painkillers specifically for menstrual pain, that mandatorily requires a doctor's prescription.

5/ Lack of proper disposal bins for used sanitary napkins and lacking sick rooms/nurses in certain factories are occupational health and safety issues raised during the session.