In a scathing critique, the Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment, Manusha Nanayakkara, expressed his strong dissatisfaction with the persistent delays in SriLankan Airlines flights. He argued that these delays have had a detrimental impact on the dispatch process of Sri Lankan migrant workers to South Korea.
In an official statement, Minister Nanayakkara highlighted that the SriLankan Airlines flight UL 470 was delayed by approximately 12 hours, subsequently disrupting the departure of a group of Sri Lankan migrant workers bound for South Korea.
The Minister emphasized that the recurrent flight delays have severely affected the scheduled dispatch of Sri Lankan migrant workers to South Korea. The affected group, which comprised 52 workers bound for employment in the fishing sector, was the 800th group of Sri Lankan migrant workers being dispatched. The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) had meticulously arranged all the necessary preparations for their departure.
Regrettably, due to the prolonged delay in the SriLankan Airlines flight, the group was unable to travel as planned, a fact relayed to the SLBFE by the South Korean Human Resources Department based in Sri Lanka.
Minister Nanayakkara further disclosed that a similar delay caused by SriLankan Airlines on May 23 had led the South Korean authorities to reject a group of Sri Lankan migrant workers. Only through the intervention of the SLBFE were they able to travel to South Korea on June 04, albeit with a two-hour delay in the rescheduled SriLankan Airlines flight.
The Minister underscored the gravity of the ongoing delays by SriLankan Airlines, emphasizing their significant impact on the dispatching process of Sri Lankan migrant workers to South Korea. He stated that urgent and decisive measures needed to be taken to address this matter effectively.
Minister Manusha Nanayakkara concluded by affirming that special attention would be given to this issue, as crucial decisions would be required to rectify the continuous delays caused by SriLankan Airlines. It is imperative to ensure the smooth dispatch of Sri Lankan migrant workers and maintain the integrity of the process.
