By Maheesha MudugamuwaLabour Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said the Government made arrangements to repatriate nearly 48,000 Sri Lankans, including migrant workers who were stranded in different countries around the world unable to return due to the Covid-19 pandemic. At a meeting held with World Bank (WB) representatives recently, the Minister said the second wave of Covid-19 had arisen at a time when all arrangements were made to bring Sri Lankans stranded overseas back to Sri Lanka as soon as possible. The discussion focused on how the Covid-19 epidemic has affected the working class in Sri Lanka and the local industry. WB Country Manager – Maldives and Sri Lanka Chiyo Kanda commended Sri Lanka for its commitment to protecting the rights and welfare of workers in the face of the current Covid epidemic. WB Senior Economist (Social Security and Employment) Walker said that the WB was ready to provide technical assistance at any time to make this social security programme for private sector employees a success.

Source: The Nation November 24, 2020 00:45 UTC