There is no formal plan to repatriate migrant workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, National People’s Power MP Dr. Harini Amarasuriya alleged yesterday (7).
Amarasuriya made this observation during a press brief organized by the Progressive Women’s Union at the headquarters of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna in Battaramulla.
MP Amarasuriya “We have been emphasising the need for the government to intervene in this regard since the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic last March.We continued to emphasise the need for special intervention with regard to our female employees serving in the Middle-East. But the government did not show any concern. By now, a large number of people have lost their jobs due to the expiration of their visas. The government did not intervene and take any special measures to protect the Sri Lankans who are in difficulty.”
MP Amarasuriya furthered, “Therefore, we staged a protest in front of the Foreign Employment Bureau and met officials and presented our concerns in writing. Yet, there was no response. As the situation worsens and the death toll rises, the problem will go out of hand. With the reduction of embassy staff, there is no one to answer the phone. The possibility of providing welfare money or relief services is completely blocked. In the face of this situation leader MP Anura Dissanayake asked several questions from Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva in Parliament in this regard. On all those occasions the government said that a programme had been prepared to bring in these people. But those who are brought in are the ones who can afford to spend Rs. 400,000 to 500,000,”.
MP Amarasuriya questioned, “Although the government says there is a programme, there is no proper plan to bring in any foreign workers except those who can afford the expenses on their own. How many who cannot have died so far, how many are unable to pay, and what is the situation with them? There is no way to get any information. What is the specific program to bring such helpless people to this country? There is no response to the telephone number provided by the government to inform this information. If we cannot contact a telephone number how can those who are abroad do it? No matter what the government says, there is no program that will be implemented to rescue the migrant workers who are going through a seriously difficult situation due to the pandemic.”