Further, prevailing international and local conditions have forced the working class and the oppressed to commemorate international labour day 2025 united.

Trump taxes on one hand has pushed the globe into a trade world war. This policy has led the US by self for heavy job cuts and a social crisis imploding. These policies may lead to a global economic contraction or a recession.

Also over 40% impact on SLs biggest export (apparels). Further, the impact on tea, Rubber, Fisheries products and many other small scale exports would be immensely affected. Contrary to these direct effects, indirect effects may escalate uncountable. This may cause a situation of sharpening exploitation to reduce production cost or some may even withdraw from the production process.

Genocide wars of Middle east (especially Gaza) and Ukraine has already pulled the world to a brink of another World War. A third world war with nukes involved, would make the Earth unbearable to stand as the two previous wars which brought extinction to production forces. Further, the prevailing wars have created and injected a new category of oppressed in the form of the Displaced to the global population.

Locally, the newly elected government with the blessing of the working class and the oppressed is still bound as a victim of the IMF economic trap. IMF has prescribed wrong remedy to the debt crisis of Sri Lanka to sustain an economic condition with higher capacity to borrow and to achieve such conditions to increase government revenue by putting the burden of unbearable direct and indirect taxes on the public. This will create a situation of the working class being exposed to a double exploitation. These circumstances have created a need that the working class be united locally and globally inone bundle. Since, as Trade Unions who propose class politics over popular power politics, we emphasize that it is high time to be united as working class of both Sri Lanka and world tocommemorate 2025 International Labour Day.

• Establish a national labor policy!

• Assure workers’ right to be trade unionized! Establish a world of work, free from violence and harassment!

• Withdraw the privatization of state-owned enterprises, the Single Labor Law Amendment, the Economic Transformation Act, and the Public Debt Management Act, persuaded under IMF conditions, which exploit and force extra burden on the working class!Stop looting social security funds, including ETF and EPF, as a component of the domestic debt restructuring!

• Abolish the Public Debt Management Act, the Economic Transformation Act, and the Labour Law Amendment immediately! Enforced under IMF guidelines, which exploit and pressurize the working public!

• Enforce the proposed amendments for the Advanced Personal Income Tax on the working community!Establish a national minimum wage of Rs. 65,000 for workers in the public, private, and estate sectors.

• Assure the sick leave entitlement right!

• Increase the prerequisite minimum paid leave to 35 days per year!

• Ensure all bank employees’ pension rights. Improve the current retirement pension benefit systems!

• Stop cutting allowances, and recruit more employees for the public sector, including the postal service!

• Establish land rights for estate workers!Implement policies aimed at fostering ethnic unity.

• Introduce all the regulations required to safeguard the environment!

• Labor justice is climate justice! Big polluters, be accountable!

• Restore the wealth that was unjustly expatriated from Sri Lanka!

• Introduce legislation pertaining to financial control. Tax extra assets. Recover all business taxes evaded!

• Implement prompt solutions to the micro financial loans that have caused public distress! Properly regulate microfinance institutions!

• Repeal the ATA and the proposed broadcasting legislation immediately, and abolish all oppressive laws, such as the OSA and PTA!

• Remove all indirect taxes on essential goods, educational material, health services, and farming and fishing equipment!

• Stop privatization of free education and free health!Expand opportunities in education, health, and transport!

• Put an end to all wars being fought for imperialism and economic gain, especially the genocide of Palestinian people!

• Repeal security accords that compromise national and peoples’ sovereignty!

• Protect migrant workers’ rights both domestically and overseas!

• Make workers in the informal sector, including domestic workers, protected by labor laws.

• Reverse trade and economic agreements that exploit states, deviating from an accepted national trade policy!

• Intervene to protect the rights of media employees and journalists in general, especially on wage and provident funds!

• Abolish all oppressive laws that impede the public’s and journalists’ freedom of speech and access to information!

• Government, protect the jobs of workers affected by import/export turbulences.

• Call for a national committee of representatives from all stakeholders initiated and established by the Parliament to derive a strategy to counter President Trump’s tariff threat successfully!

Let’s line up united for a world workers’ power! Our fight does not end within our State’s boarders. We fight with working peoples worldwide to bring about a world order in which we, the creators of our wealth, will be in power, deciding for all of us for a more equitable, sustainable and compassionate future.

Power to the working people!

Declaration of a coalition of Trade Unions and Mass Movements
1. Ceylon Bank Employees’ Union
2. Union of Post and Telecommunication Officers
3. Sri Lanka Janaraja Health Services Union
4. Free Trade Zones & General Services Employees’ Union
5. United Federation of Labour
6. Ceylon Estate Staff’s Union
7. Sri Lanka All Telecommunication Employees’ Union
8. CEB Technical Engineers & Superintendents Union
9. Standup Movement
10. Fisheries Solidarity Movement
11. Greenpeace
12. Commercial & Industrial Workers’ Union
13. PROTECT Union
14. Insurance General Employees’ Union
15. Inter University Trade Union Federation
16. Free Media Movement Trade Unions
17. Federation of Media Employees’ Trade Union
18. United General Workers Union
19. Professionals National Front
20. Voice of the Plantation People Organization
21. Independent Dock Yard Workers’ Union
22. Movement for Defending Democratic Rights
23. Ceylon Plantation Workers’ Union
24. Professional Teachers’ Union
25. Pragathi Teachers’ Union
26. Sri Lanka National Teachers’ Union
27.Sri Lanka Independent Teachers’ Services Union
28. Peoples’ Leasing Employees’ Union