On 1 February 2017 Sri Lankan riot police attacked a protest march of about 1,000 Colombo port workers opposed to the government’s plan to privatise the East Terminal of Colombo harbour.
The police erected barricades to prevent protestors marching towards the Presidential Secretariat. The opposition Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) party and its trade unions, which organised the march, had planned to hand over a petition requesting President Maithripala Sirisena to intervene and halt the privatisation of the port terminal.
After police blocked the march, the Presidential Secretariat promised to send someone to collect the petition. When, after 40 minutes, there was no sign of an official arriving, some workers tried to break through the barricades. Immediately police used water cannon and tear gas against the protesters. A number received minor injuries and hundreds fled the scene.
Many of the workers were employed on a contract basis by labour hire agencies, doing the same work as permanent employees but for lower pay, fewer benefits and no job security. They feared their situation would become even worse under privatisation.