Trade unions want govt. to address issues of workers hit by COVID

Trade unions and organisations representing Free Trade Zone workers, manpower workers have made an urgent appeal to the government to look into welfare for those affected due to the COVID situation.

The unions and organisations are the Ceylon Bank Employees’ Union (CBE), Ceylon Federation of Trade Unions (CFTU), Ceylon Industrial Workers Union (CIWU), Ceylon Mercantile, Industrial and General Workers Union (CMU), Ceylon Teachers' Union (CTU), Dabindu Collective Sri Lanka, Katunayake, Liberation Movement, National Union of Seafarers in Sri Lanka (NUSS), Progressive Women’s Collective, Revolutionary Existence for human Development (RED), Katunayake, Sramabimani Kendraya, Seeduwa,Standup Movement Lanka, Katunayake and the United Federation of Labour (UFL).

They said they were calling on the  on the Government - Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labour, the Presidential Task Force to combat COVID-19, the Board of Investment (BOI) and the Ministry Level (Tripartite) Task Force to respond to the impact of COVID-19 on employment and  to respond to some of the  urgent demands below;

- To provide urgent relief rations, essentials and medicines to workers in mandatory self-quarantine using some of the COVID funds received from corporates, foreign governments and IFIs to date. We trust that the government utilises some of these funds to provide assistance to these workers and publicise a breakdown of how these funds have been utilised thus far

- To carry out an immediate survey/needs assessment of workers in and around the FTZs, including accurate information on manpower workers

- To provide Rs. 10,000 health allowance for FTZ workers who have lost their jobs, or are currently unable to work due to COVID-19, including manpower workers

- To carry out PCR testing on all workers, including manpower workers working in and around the Katunayaka FTZs

- To ensure that all government quarantine facilities and hospitals treating COVID-19 patients are in keeping with international safety standards

- To maintain a regular flow of risk communication, including what to expect in case of anyone in the boarding or factory being found to be COVID positive, or is showing symptoms, and details about government response and emergency contacts. Ensure that all communication is shared in Sinhala and Tamil

- To ensure workers taken to quarantine centres, in mandatory self-quarantine, and/or have not been able to go to work during the lockdown, are compensated

- Publicise and enforce the tripartite agreement on compensation reached during lockdown, decided on at the Joint Task Force meeting