On 22 April 2014, Sri Lankan police violently assaulted dozens of protesting substitute railway workers at Colombo’s Fort Railway Station. Five workers were arrested.
The railway workers had begun a “fast until death” protest on 21 April 2014 outside the railway station to demand job permanency.
The Sri Lanka Freedom Railway Employees’ Union (SLFRE), which is affiliated to President Mahinda Rajapakse’s ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party, called the protest to try and deflect rising anger among the more than 3,000 railway workers who have been employed as temporary hands for about six years and fear that they could lose their jobs at any time. The Railway Department recently terminated the employment of 15 technical assistants.
Sri Lankan Transport Minister Kumara Welgama visited the protest, just before the police attack, promising to grant permanency to all workers and calling on them to end their action. While SLFRE officials promptly obeyed and called-off the “fasting” protest, the substitute railway workers did not trust the Minister’s undertaking. At about 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, hundreds of angry workers, chanting their demands, gathered inside the station and blocked the coastal railway line.
Within minutes, hundreds of riot police equipped with automatic rifles, batons, tear gas and water cannons stormed the station and attacked the protestors. Some workers were beaten and dragged along the railway platforms.