Life insurance, pension scheme for fishermen mooted

Ridma Dissanayake

The National Fisheries Federation (NFF) to mark the 125 th International Workers' Day that was celebrated yesterday has taken measures to introduce a life insurance and pension scheme for fishermen and their families,Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne said.

There are 165,000 fishermen and over 600,000 fisher families who will benefit by this life insurance scheme and those fishermen will be paid Rs.10,000 as their pension,he added.

Under this life insurance scheme families of fishermen who die or become disabled by accidents will receive Rs.100,000 under first scheme and in the second scheme they will receive Rs.300,000,the Minister added. Fisher families will also receive an allowance of Rs.5000 in case of disappearance of fishermen at sea,he further noted.

According to NFF sources fishermen will have to pay a small amount of money (Rs.750) under the first scheme and if they wish Rs.1500 to be included in the second scheme.

This insurance scheme will also provide other benefits such as funeral donations and hospital charges,they further added. According to the Mahinda Chinthana Future Vision the fishing industry is one of the most important industries in Sri Lanka. Therefore, the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Ministry has a responsibility to uplift the livelihoods of the fishermen,Dr. Rajitha stated.