Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has appealed to all industrialists and businessmen to protect their employees and face the challenges caused by the Covid pandemic instead of dismissing them. This was stated in a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Media Unit. The Prime Minister made these remarks at a discussion held at Temple Trees on the issues faced by the Sri Lanka Apparel Brands Association and the Sri Lanka Retailers Association. Delegates spoke on issues such as obtaining bank loan concessions, resolving issues in opening letters of credit, vaccinating garment workers, obtaining permission to open readymade garment shops as per Covid guidelines, Employees Provident Fund and Employees Trust Fund issues. Representatives of those unions said it was difficult to keep employees in business and that they had no choice but to lay them off.

Source: The Nation July 01, 2021 05:15 UTC