The Ministry of Labour is proposing a permanent scheme to provide limited unemployment insurance coverage for working people. Currently Sri Lanka provides no social security at all for people who suddenly lose their jobs and this year thousands working in the export sectors, have lost jobs due to impacts of the global recession.
The US$2.5 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan has brought mixed reactions from all quarters from politicians to economists and Central Bank (CB) officials. Although the stock market reacted to the news this week with healthy trading levels, some economists and opposition leaders feel the CB and the government must do more to correct and strengthen the macroeconomic fundamentals and improve the Balance of Payment (BOP) position.
