Around 40 trade unions, such as government hospital staff and bank employees, have called for work stoppages. Read more at straitstimes.com.
COLOMBO - Sri Lankan workers went on strike on Wednesday in defiance of a government ban to protest against a rescue plan for the bankrupt island nation, forcing the closure of hospitals, banks and ports.
Doctors at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka in Colombo said only emergency cases were being treated, while appointments were cancelled at private clinics and hospitals. Union leaders said they were told by Mr Wickremesinghe on Saturday that he cannot reduce income taxes as it was a condition of the IMF to release a bailout package.
Sri Lanka sought IMF help after defaulting on its US$46 billion US foreign government debt last April but is waiting for financial assurances from China, its largest single bilateral creditor, that it is willing to take a haircut on loans to the South Asian nation.
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