Sri Lankan civil servants stage strikes to protest against government handling of economic crisis

Public employees across Sri Lanka refused to report for work March 15, 2023, in protest against the country’s high cost of living, causing major disruptions to daily operations at hospitals, schools and railways. Many Sri Lankans blame the economic policies of President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s administration for the country’s slow recovery from the country’s worst economic crisis since its independence from Britain in 1948. The government says the tough measures, which include steep tax and interest rate hikes, are necessary to unlock an International Monetary Fund bailout loan worth US$2.9 billion.