Sri Lankan leaders call on working class to play greater role for economic prosperity

Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena on Monday called on the working people in the country to play a greater role to achieve economic prosperity and face the challenges of achieving reconciliation.

In his May Day message, Sirisena said he saluted the comrades of the working class celebrating May Day all over the world and saluted the working comrades who sacrificed their lives, raised their voices and shed blood for human freedom and labor rights.

He added the working class in Sri Lanka had played a major role in winning back democracy in the country and they should now act as a responsible social force towards the economic process as well as the new global trends.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in his May Day message said workers were not only those who harvest the fields and fuel the machinery, but workers also include those who are engaged with their work via technology and the internet in the global marketplace.

"New definitions have also brought on new responsibilities and needs, ones that must be taken into account when we talk of worker interests," Wickremesinghe said.

"The stage today is set for us to rise above the standard May Day celebrations to embrace a bigger, more relevant and meaningful concept with the participation of the private sector in Sri Lanka," he added.

The prime minister said Sri Lanka must experience the courage, the desire and the capability to go beyond the traditional definition, to encompass a greater dialogue that includes better working conditions, greater opportunities and ideas that deliver the kind of results needed in today's world of technology and connectivity. Endit