The Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, Attorney-at-Law

¶ 01 Presiding Member, Hon. Chaminda Wijesiri’s motion is valuable. While procedures exist, the problem has been non-implementation, leading to many complaints about officers meant to help our workers. We must both strengthen and appoint the right people, and ensure procedures are followed.

¶ 02 Currently, in our missions’ labour wings, there are about 15 in the Middle East and around 30 in the Far East, with more than 80 additional staff including drivers—serving roughly 110,000 Sri Lankans. I request attention to junior managers who are being blocked by current recruitment practices; they should be given opportunities to advance. Also, Japan and Romania lack labour/welfare sections despite having large Sri Lankan communities—about 40,000 in Japan and 25,000 in Romania—contributing significant remittances. Cyprus too has over 10,000 Sri Lankans, yet its office was closed; please reopen it. We must improve facilities and representation.

¶ 03 To the Prime Minister and Deputy Minister: today, many SMEs are protesting outside the Presidential Secretariat. Despite assurances last December that circulars would resolve their bank issues, properties worth crores are being seized for as little as Rs. 1,000; CRIB listings have blocked opportunities, and no working capital or restart programmes are available. Since Easter attacks, COVID-19, and the economic crash, over a million entrepreneurs have been pushed out. Please address this urgently.

¶ 04 On Sri Lankans in Russia: many have been drawn into the Russia–Ukraine conflict; numerous deaths and disappearances have occurred. Families are denied bodies and even access to funerals; some survivors are being kept in Russia beyond a year and then sent to the border and into combat zones. I urge the Foreign Ministry and the Prime Minister to act.

¶ 05 Finally, a serious public health concern: reports indicate hexavalent chromium levels exceeding 10%, now at 13–14% in some water supplies—in areas like Ambatale and Galle—causing skin injuries and other ailments. The importer is Ceegreen Engineering (Pvt.) Ltd. Please investigate urgently, as chromium is carcinogenic and can cause severe health effects; inconsistent lab results are being reported. Thank you.