Elephant Pass Salt: Workers' Demands Misrepresented in Reports to Minister, Says Workers

The workers claim that their demands have been misrepresented in official reports sent to Minister Sunil Handunnetti.

This was apparent during his yesterday (May 22) address in Parliament, where it was incorrectly stated that Northern workers were opposing the transportation of salt to the South.

In reality, the workers are not against the distribution of Northern salt to the South, but are simply requesting that salt produced in Elephant Pass be packaged locally to ensure they receive steady employment.

A group of employees at the Elephant Pass Salt Factory launched a peaceful protest last week (May 16) to draw attention to several key demands related to their working conditions and local industry practices.

The workers are calling for the salt produced in Elephant Pass to be packaged locally, instead of being transported unprocessed to Hambantotta, Puttalam, and Mannar. They argue that local packaging would generate daily employment opportunities for the workforce in Elephant Pass Saltern.

Their primary demands include:

Stop transporting raw salt to other areas and begin packaging it at the Elephant Pass site.
Ensure daily employment for local workers.
End the mistreatment of laborers.
Replace the current Manager.
Allow the formation of a labor union to represent the workers’ rights.
Rename the “Raja Salt” brand to “Elephant Pass Salt” to reflect its true origin.

The workers has strongly condemned the misrepresentation of facts in official communications and has called for strict action against those responsible for spreading misinformation and creating social division through false reports.