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| Sunday, 16 May 2004 |
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Relief package for terminated SLBFE employees by Ananda Kannangara Labour Relations and Foreign Employment Minister Athauda Seneviratne on Friday assured that a special relief package will be offered to the 86 employees of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) who were terminated last week. The Minister gave this assurance during his first official visit to the Bureau Head Office in Colombo 5. Addressing a group of employees, Minister Seneviratne said these workers were recruited by the Bureau, in violation of the procedures laid down in circular PMS/CM - No. 16 issued by the then Secretary to the Treasury. He also focused on the present situation of the Bureau, with emphasis on its current financial status and said that large sums of money, which the Bureau collected from Lankan migrant workers, had been utilised by the previous management on unwarranted projects. Chairman, SLBFE Karunasena Hettiarachchi said the Bureau had to take the decision to terminate the services of these workers not for political reasons, but to halt employment opportunities outside the criteria. He, however, said the Bureau terminated the services of only 86 workers and not 500 workers as erroneously stated in several print and electronic media. Meanwhile, the Convenor of the terminated employees W.A.S. Lal Kumara said this was the very first occasion the Bureau had terminated the services of employees in an unethical manner and dismissed the statement of the Minister that the Bureau had excess staff. He said all 86 employees were qualified to hold their posts while 14 of them were graduates. |
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