’1990’’ under military rule: Suwa Seriya employees launch protest

Colombo, June 5 (Daily Mirror) - For the first time in its history, employees of the '1990' Suwa Seriya emergency ambulance service have launched a street protest yesterday in Colombo. Staff members gathered to voice their strong dissent against what they described as a newly imposed "military-style administration" and arbitrary workspace transfers that undermine the welfare of workers.

Speaking to the media during the demonstration, an employee representative said that since the establishment of Suwa Seriya in 2016, the workforce has continuously endured a multitude of unresolved professional grievances across changing governments. Despite these decade-long hardship, the staff said that they prioritized the lives of patients and fulfilled their responsibilities without lapse during the country's worst crises, including the Easter Sunday attacks, natural disasters, and the severe challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The protesters alleged that following the election of the present government, the internal Board of Directors was restructured, bringing in a leadership composition dominated entirely by ex-naval or military personnel.

"From the Chairman to internal department heads and quality management officers, the administration is heavily run like the Navy. To put it simply, it is a military rule," a union representative claimed. They argued that '1990' is a deeply sensitive emergency service where patient care begins with comforting words, a culture that is directly stifled by authoritarian management and abrupt, punitive transfers.

The employees clarified that they organized the gathering to officially hand over a memorandum containing their grievances to the President and the 'Government.

Addressing rumours circulating on social media which claimed the protest had compromised public safety, representatives fiercely denied abandoning their duties. Out of the 1,600 island-wide staff members, fewer than 400 participated in the physical rally, ensuring that the remaining majority stayed on duty to guarantee that emergency healthcare responses for Sri Lankan citizens were not disrupted.