Sri Lankan athlete Kalinga Kumarage has won the bronze medal in the Men’s 400m event at the Asian Athletics Championship 2025, held in Gumi, South Korea.

Kumarage finished clocking 45.55 seconds.

The gold and silver medals were won by Qatar and Japan respectively.

The Post and Telecommunication Officers’ Union (PTOU) has scheduled a 48-hour token strike starting from midnight today (May 28), PTOU President G.G.C. Niroshana has said.

He added that the strike is being held based on 10 demands, including addressing delays in the recruitment process.

Employees of Michelin Lanka Pvt Ltd, located in the Midigama area of Matara, allege that there are plans to sell the company.

This has raised concerns among employees about job losses, leading to protests. 

Workers allege that the company is planning to dismiss them with a minimal severance payment, which they believe is insufficient.

An employee has revealed to the media that after workers were informed about this decision, a newly formed employees’ union has set several demands to the company authorities.

Workers have demanded a fair severance package, but authorities have offered Rs.200,000, (a sum employees consider inadequate) reportedly asking them to provide resignation letters in return.

An employer also states that before the current government took office, Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe had proposed that forming a trade union could help secure workers’ rights.  However, the president and secretary of that union are now reportedly in hiding, he employer adds.

Meanwhile, holding a press conference recently, the Inter Company Employees’ Union had revealed that Michelin Lanka Pvt Ltd is in the process of selling the company to the Indian company – CEAT.

According to the union, CEAT has purchased a majority stake in the company.

As part of the deal, it is reported that the Midigama factory of Michelin Lanka Pvt Ltd  and part of its operations in Ja-Ela have been transferred to Indian CEAT company.

The Inter Company Employees’ Union had stated there was no issue as a MoU was signed between the two companies to secure workers’ rights. According to the agreement, Michelin Lanka Pvt Ltd had pledged to honor the full service period of affected workers, while CEAT agreed to provide appropriate compensation based on their years of service, the union adds.

Michelin Lanka was previously a part of Camso Loadstar (Private) Ltd, one of the largest suppliers of industrial tyres in the global market.

The situation at Michelin Lanka follows the sudden closure of the NEXT garment factory in the Katunayake Free Trade Zone a few weeks ago, leaving over 1,400 workers jobless.

In a statement, the company cited high production costs as the reason for shutting down operations in Sri Lanka.

(Video credits : FB page of ITN)

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