Crisis-hit Sri Lanka's public workers protest power tariff, tax hikes

People wait inside a shuttle ambulance vehicle outside a hospital during a strike against huge tax increase in Colombo, Sri Lanka, March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Public sector staff at Sri Lankan hospitals, banks and ports walked out on Wednesday, with some taking to the streets and other employees including teachers dressing in black, in a widespread protest against soaring living costs.

The island is grappling with its worst economic crisis since gaining independence from Britain in 1948, beset by inflation above 50%, a shortage of foreign exchange, a plummeting currency and a steep recession.