Four human rights defenders associated with a human rights organisation, Right to Life, based in Sri Lanka, have been deprived of their right to engage in peaceful activities by a permanent injunction issued by the District Court of Negombo which has held that there is no legal right to engage in such peaceful activities. They are:
(M.K. Rodrigo (former president of the workers council)
Ms. A.N. Mapalagamo, (coordinator of TRY, a workers welfare association)
Brito Fernando, and
Philip Dissanayake)
This permanent injunction was issued on February 15, 2008 in case No. 2835/5. In this case a leader of a workers council was dismissed by the employer, CCS Elsuma (Pvt) Ltd, and there was a peaceful protest of picketing in defense of this worker by many persons including the four persons mentioned above.
At no stage did the employer alleged that they were engaged in any form of violent or illegal acts. However, the court has held that holding of the protest itself, however, peaceful it may be is illegal and therefore the court issued a permanent injunction preventing the four persons mentioned from gathering on the road way near the company or holding any further protests. The road way leading to the company is a public road. The judgement states that although the organisation named, Right to Life, works to protect human rights, it has no legal basis to participate in these protests.
This court order is unprecedented in Sri Lanka as the constitution guarantees the freedom of association, freedom of expression and the freedom to form trade unions. Protests by way of picketing peacefully and extending solidarity to the workers who expressed grievances are part of the long established tradition of the workers and the human rights movement of Sri Lanka. If this case is to be followed all such peaceful protests will be regarded as illegal. When contacted several Sri Lankan lawyers who wish to remain anonymous stated that this judgement is absurd but this is how things are now. Even the most basic principles are ignored either due to the ignorance of the particular judge or due to other reasons.
The human rights defenders mentioned above have through their lawyers submitted their objections to the court showing that the company has not shown anywhere that any damage to property, persons or the income of the company has been caused due to their activities. They have requested the rejection of the plaint of the company as it did not manifest any legally valid cause of action. They have also reputed all the claims of the company and emphasize their right to hold peaceful protests in the promotion of a cause they thought was just. However, the court has not made any decision on the objections taken up by the human rights defenders.
The background to this case was the protests which took place at CCS Elsuma (Pvt) Ltd at their factory located at Daluwakotuwa, Kochchikade (near Negombo). In this company there had been strikes every year due to unsatisfactory working conditions. This years strike took place from 1st to 2nd March as the management proposed a salary scheme which was considered by the workers as being unfair to them. This strike was brought to an end by the intervention of the Commissioner of Labour and the Board of Investment (BOI) who brought about an agreement between the management and the workers to set up a workers council (Savaka Sabava – Sinhalese). This Savaka Sabava was expected to consult the workers and to make its proposals regarding salaries, the employment security of contract workers who were contracted through third parties, holidays and other workers benefits. The workers council accordingly presented their proposals on the 23rd May 2007.
Mr. Mildred Capstran Lambert, Director of Personnel, promised to reply to the workers demands within two days. However, thereafter he kept on postponing the date of the management reply and finally stated that it would take over a month to do so. Mr. Lambert put the blame for the delay on Raeto Zryd, the CEO. Thereafter Mr. Lambert also refused to acknowledge letters given by the workers council through its president.
When the workers council demanded a reply for its proposals, suddenly the president of the workers council, Maximum Krishan Rodrigo was first interdicted and then dismissed without any substantive charges or an inquiry. Later the management went to the District Court of Negombo to prevent him, and several human rights organisations that have supported the workers, from continuing to highlight the issue of the workers proposals made in terms of the above mentioned agreement. The company is now attacking not only the rights of workers and their representatives but also the rights of the human rights organisations in the locality where the factory is situated from carrying out their normal activities and assisting the workers of the company to gain their legitimate demands.
The Asian Human Rights Commission has written to Ms. Hina Jilani, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders asking her to intervene in this matter.
