LMS workers go to courts to get compensation

 Lanka Marine Services Ltd ((LMS) workers have filed a fundamental rights petition before the Supreme Court claiming the company is trying to evade the payment of compensation after the privatization of the company, from a state-owned enterprise, was overturned in July 2008 by a court ruling, workers said.

The petition alleges that LMS, owned by John Keells Holdings, is making representations to the Labour Department to stop payments to the workers on the ground that they are not entitled to compensation in accordance with the Nationalization Act of 1971(where a number of private enterprises, mainly plantations, were acquired by the state).

After the July ruling, following discussions with the Department and LMS, a tentative compensation package for the workers was agreed totaling 153 million.