By Sarah Hannan In the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, recognised political parties of Sri Lanka are planning to resort to alternative methods of delivering their Labour Day messages to the workforce of the country. Some parties have moved their rallies to the digital space and will host live sessions on Facebook and YouTube, while some parties will mark the day adhering to the health guidelines. Sri Lanka Podujana Permanua (SLPP) Party General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam informed that this time, there will not be any programme to mark the occasion. “On behalf of the party, the Labour Day message will be delivered by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa,” he said. Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Party General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara said the party will not be holding any meetings in compliance with the health guidelines. “We will lay floral tributes at the T.B. Ilangaratne statue as per party tradition. While we are barred from holding the traditional May Day rallies, this year’s Labour Day will be dedicated to paying tribute to the health service workers, doctors, nurses, public health inspectors (PHIs), tri-forces, and police personnel who are tirelessly working to eliminate the Covid-19 pandemic from our country,” he said. The SLFP Labour Day message highlighted that it will continue to stand in solidarity with the working-class people who are contributing towards humanitarian work at trying times. The party also pays tribute to its Founder T.B. Ilangaratne who stood for the rights for free education, free healthcare, equality, and social harmony and recollected that his school of thought is still valid to this day. Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) “Since we are unable to hold the traditional May Day rally due to the ongoing pandemic, we will host a live broadcast through Facebook and YouTube at 3 p.m. today,” party Leader Duminda Nagamuwa revealed. In their Labour Day Message, the FSP pointed out that the past few weeks have proved that liberalism and nationalism are failing in the face of global epidemics, global environmental crises, and the risk of world war, adding that an opportunity is created for politics based on the international solidarity achieved by the working people. The FSP urges all who are oppressed and exploited to join forces to build an independent political organisation of the class and a broad revolutionary mass movement that will defeat capitalism and imperialism on a global scle. United National Party (UNP) Party Leader and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in his Labour Day message reiterated the importance of protecting the workforce of the country. “In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are faced with a challenge of strengthening the healthcare sector of the country and building economic stability. The two sectors are interconnected and one cannot be strengthened without the other. We need a health workforce to overcome these challenges,” Wickremesinghe stated. He also called for collective efforts to find solutions, so Sri Lanka can overcome the challenge presented by Covid-19 not only locally, but also globally. He also noted that the world would have to adapt to work amidst the presence of the Covid-19 virus and the common enemy of the world is the virus. Therefore, he urged the public to leave aside their political and personal agendas and to join forces in eliminating the Covid-19 virus from the world. Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) The JVP will host a live address through their Facebook page at 10 a.m. “Our party General Secretary Comrade Tilvin Silva and Comrade Anura Kumara Dissanayake will deliver their Labour Day messages through Facebook. This time, Labour Day will be marked amidst much limitations due to Covid-19 pandemic,” said the JVP Media Unit. In their Labour Day message, the JVP extended its unwavering support towards each person assisting in the battle against Covid-19. The party further pointed out that the situation in Sri Lanka is grave that the sociopolitical and political crisis in Sri Lanka, which has been developing over the past few years, is further exacerbated by the corona epidemic. At a time when imperialism and capitalism in the world have shown its failure, the JVP calls upon all people, including the working people of Sri Lanka, to believe that the new socialist society must be defeated and organised to defeat capitalism.