The Government has rushed a two-member team including a senior police officer to Jordan following reports that Sri Lankan factory girls had been sexually assaulted repeatedly by certain factory managers over several months, a senior official said yesterday.
Foreign Employment Bureau (FEB) Chairman-Kingsley Ranawaka said an Assistant Superintendent from the President’s Special Investigation Unit and a female representative from the bureau left for Jordan this week for a first-hand probe on the reports.
“As of now, we are yet to receive complaints from workers. But, the government decided to take action following adverse media publicity over the report by the US-based Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights (GLHR),” he said.
Mr. Ranawaka said any action would depend on the findings made by the team who would be assisted by the Sri Lankan mission in Amman and others involved.
The report filed by the GLHR alleged a series of sexual attacks on female workers by their managers over a period of time. The report said that in certain cases some of the victims were also tortured and even denied food.
The suspects allegedly involved in the case are reported to be fellow Sri Lankans and an Indian attached to the Classic group of factories where an estimated 400 Lankans are employed, according to Mr. Ranawaka.
Faizer Mackeen of the Association for the Licensed Foreign Recruiting Agencies (ALFEA) said yesterday the authorities had initially ignored the allegations, but were forced to act following adverse media reports in Sri Lanka and elsewhere.
He warned that a global campaign could be launched to discourage buyers from trading with these factories in Jordan. “Under the Convention of the International Labour Organisation buyers are advised against trading with manufacturers who are known to suppress their workers or subject them to sexual assaults. The authorities have done little to look into the issue in a proper manner, and there are fears that it may be swept under the carpet.
“The ALFEA has written to relevant authorities on the matter and is hopeful that it will be treated with utmost seriousness,” Mr. Mackeen said. |
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