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| Wednesday, 31 March 2004 |
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by Ananda Kannangara Seventy-eight Sri Lankan house maids who faced numerous hardships while being employed in Saudi Arabia were flown back to Sri Lanka yesterday on a request made by Employment and Labour Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe from the Saudi Arabian Government. The travel expenses of the workers amounting to Rs. 2 million were borne by the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE). "According to information received by us, these employees had left their workplaces several months ago following various employment problems," Chairman, SLBFE M.A.R.D. Jayathilaka told the Daily News yesterday. He said that this group of female workers had sought refuge in detention camps run by the Saudi Arabian Government. It is reported that some of the workers had overstayed their visas. It is said that Minister Samarasinghe visited several Gulf countries last year after his official visit to the International Labour Conference meeting in Geneva and a special scheme has been drawn up to provide safety and welfare measures for few other Sri Lankan workers who are in foreign detention camps. The Chairman also said that the expenses to bring back the workers were born under the Employees Welfare Fund maintained by the Bureau and about 1749 workers were airlifted to Sri Lanka last year. "A list of names of the workers who arrived yesterday was released by us few days prior to their arrival for the convenience of the relatives and the next of kin of the workers," Jayathilaka added. |
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