As well as being hit by sharply rising prices on essential goods, the working class now faces huge job losses. Desperate for loans to shore up the country's precarious foreign reserves, Kumaratunga has agreed to the terms laid down by the World Bank and IMF, which include the drastic reform of the ports and financial sectors. Previously the PA government had backed away from such reforms after protests and strikes by workers. The jobs being targetted were once considered relatively well paid and secure. State bank employees in particular received higher salaries compared to other workers and enjoyed a number of significant benefits including pensions, medical facilities and housing loan schemes.
Planning is well advanced.
The extent of the program was made clear during a previous World Bank visit in January. The job cuts along with other restructuring measures to speed up operations and cut costs are the preparation for privatisation. A few days ago another World Bank team arrived in Colombo to prepare plans for the carve-up of the Central Bank. They are working in tandem with advisers from the international auditing firm, Price Waterhouse Cooper, visiting each of the bank's departments to assess the scope of job cuts. The Central Bank governor told the Sunday Times in February that the bank had hired a group of advisers to make initial restructuring recommendations.