The Filipino government intervened into the dispute immediately, ordering a return to a work and deploying police to break picket lines. Dozens of workers have been injured or arrested in clashes and at least 50, including the leaders of the LRT union, face criminal prosecution on frame-up charges. The attack on the workers, and their subsequent sacking on July 27, was ordered by Philippines President Joseph Estrada. The LRT is one of numerous state-owned assets being prepared for privatisation. The strike action, which is continuing, has been isolated by the Filipino trade union leadership and diverted into court challenges.
All signs point to an escalation of state repression over the next week.
Metro Manila Police head Edgardo Aglipay claimed on July 31 that left-wing groups, intent on destabilising the government, were supporting the strikers. Uniformed police have been moved into 15 stations along the track and plain-clothes police deployed on the carriages. The strike was in defiance of government emergency regulations banning industrial action. Almost all of Sri Lanka's 15,000 railway workers participated in the campaign called by the Railway Trade Union Front, a coalition of 28 rail unions, despite attempts by pro-government unions to block any action. Supporters of the government attacked strikers, injuring four workers.