This month's issue of the Socialist Standard drew attention to the dire conditions being faced by Sri Lankan fellow workers suffering under an economic melt-down. It has seemingly grown worse.
Every day motorists line up at fuel pumps at the break of dawn and wait hours until they open. The military has posted soldiers at hundreds of gas stations on March 22 after complaints of stockpiling and inefficient distribution, and farmers and fishermen have joined a growing wave of protests. While Sri Lanka was in economic trouble even before COVID-19 with struggles to pay foreign debt and slow growth, the series of lockdowns dealt a major blow to the informal sector, which accounts for nearly 60% of the country's workforce. Job losses and reduced earnings increased poverty in the country of 22 million.
The share of the poor based on a daily income of $3.20 was estimated to have grown to 11.7% in 2020 - or by more than half a million people - from 9.2% a year before, according to the World Bank.
Central bank data shows that the government had identified 5 million families with "fragile financial status of low-income households" and provided them a 5,000 rupee allowance during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Economic crisis forces Sri Lankans to moonlight as prices soar (trust.org)
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