Oct 31, Colombo: Sri Lanka's Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) says the working masses in the country do not enjoy the real benefits of their involvement in the production process.

JVP politburo member and Head of the National Trade Union Center (NTUC), K.D. Lal Kantha said that the benefits of the country's production process is enjoyed by a small number of people while millions of people in the country are living in the red every month without receiving the real dividends for their work.

He explained that there are 1.2 million state employees, 6.2 private sector employees and a 6.5 million farming community in the country.

"There are 13.9 million people in the country who keep asking for salary increases or higher prices for their goods that are rightfully theirs," Lal Kantha observed.

He added that the working masses have called for a salary increase in the budget while farmers have asked for an increase in the certified price for a kilo of paddy.

"When you consider the families of this 13.9 million people it amounts to a large number and they are all in need of the real benefits for their hard work," Lal Kantha said.

"This is the struggle of the working class and it could only be solved by a change in the current system," he added.