Jordanian police teargas striking Lankans

The Jordanian police had resorted to the use of tear gas to quell an unruly protest by Sri Lankans at a factory there today, said the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau (SLBFE).

Though the initial work stoppage by around 3,000 Sri Lankan workers in the Jordanian factory had been called off, a dispute this morning had created a tense atmosphere.

The work stoppage had begun as a result of a clash between the Sri Lankans and a group of Indonesian workers in the factory. The Sri Lankans had demanded that the Indonesians be transferred from the factory and later the owners had agreed to the demands and the strike called off, according to SLBFE chairman Kingsley Ranawaka.

However, the workers had today (Oct. 10) resumed the strike demanding that a supervisor (a Sri Lankan) too be transferred. When employers had acceded to this too, the workers had demanded that the supervisor’s transfer was not enough, but he should be sent back to Sri Lanka, said Mr. Ranawaka.

With the agitation getting worse, the factory owners had called the police who had used tear gas to disperse the unruly strikers, added the SLBFE chairman.