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Five to ten workers in every garment factory test positive for Covid-19 daily – activist

Published

4 years ago

2021/08/26

By Rathindra Kuruwita

About five to ten workers tested positive for COVID-19 every day at every garment factory, Chamila Thushari of the Dabindu Collective that works on garment factory workers’ rights told The Island yesterday

She said that though garment factories remained open during the lockdown, a significant number of COVID infections had been detected in them.

“Politicians and business leaders insist that garment factories need to remain open to keep the economy going. This is true, we earn a lot of foreign revenue for the country. Recently, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka said that the value of textile and garment exports increased by 28% year-on-year to $2.5 billion in January to June 2021. The companies also increased profits in 2020 as well. However, the garment workers are compelled to operate in an unsafe environment,” she said.

Thushari said that during the first wave of COVID-19 the factory owners, for the most part, had followed health guidelines. ” Only 50% of the workforce was brought in. However, since then the situation has changed.

“Disinfection of factory premises is not taking place. Workers are not given surgical masks and they have been forced to wear cloth masks that aren’t very effective. Almost everyone is brought in for work and when they get sick or have to quarantine, the workers are left to their own devices in most instances,” she said.

Five garment workers had died and a large number of them were facing COVID-19 related complications, Thushari said. The labour activist asserted that most of the garment factory workers were under 30 years and therefore had not been vaccinated.

“There is hardly any testing to identify cases as well. Although the factories have made colossal profits the salaries of workers have been reduced. The company owners are gaining but the workers are losing,” she said.

Meanwhile, College of Medical Laboratory Science (CMLS) President, Ravi Kumudesh told The Island that they were capable of testing all garment workers and issue reports within a few days, if the government gave the green light.

“We have been warning of infection clusters around garment factories for almost a year. We understand that is it necessary to keep these factories open, but the lives of their workers matter more than anything else. From what we hear, a significant number of factories now face labour shortages because most workers have tested COVID-19 positive.”

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Governor of Gujarat met with Sri Lanka PM to discuss exposition of Devnimori Relics

Published

58 mins ago

2026/02/6

Priyan

The Governor of the of Gujarat, Acharya Devvrat, along with the Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat, Harsh Sanghvi, met with Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya on Thursdy [February 05] at the Parliamentary Complex to discuss the arrangements related to the exposition of the Devnimori Sacred Relics of Lord Buddha, which have been brought to Sri Lanka under the patronage of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Government of India.

These sacred relics of Lord Buddha were discovered during archaeological excavations conducted in the 1960s at the historic Devnimori site in Gujarat, the home state of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Until now, these relics had never been taken outside India. As a result of discussions held between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Sri Lanka, the people of Sri Lanka have been granted this rare opportunity to venerate these sacred relics.

The exposition of the relics is being held for a period of seven days, from February 05 to February 11, at the Gangaramaya Temple in Hunupitiya, Colombo. Discussions were held between both parties regarding the arrangements related to this event.

The discussion was attended by Samar Nanda, Joint Secretary of the Indian Ministry of Culture; Dr. Satyanjal Pandey, Acting High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka; Abhijit Halder, Director General of the International Buddhist Confederation; along with several others.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]

News

INS GHARIAL makes port call in Colombo

Published

8 hours ago

2026/02/6

Priyan

The Indian Naval Ship (INS) GHARIAL made a port call in Colombo for operational turnarounds on 04 Feb 26. The Sri Lanka Navy welcomed the visiting ship in compliance with naval traditions.

Commanded by Commander Gaurav Tewari, INS GHARIAL is a vessel with a length of 124.8 meters.

During this visit, ten (10) Bailey Bridges, brought by ship, through the coordination of the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka, will be handed over to the Disaster Management Center. These bridges will provide temporary transportation links while bridges damaged across the island by adverse weather conditions are repaired.

The crew’s itinerary features scheduled goodwill activities with the Sri Lanka Navy, alongside visits to several tourist attractions across the island.

News

Speaker’s personal secretary accused of interference with ongoing bribery investigation

Published

9 hours ago

2026/02/6

Thilina Walpola

Harshana

SJB Gampaha District MP Harshana Rajakaruna yesterday told Parliament that the Speaker’s Personal Secretary had written to the Secretary-General of Parliament seeking information on a complaint lodged with the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) by a former Deputy Secretary of Parliament against the Speaker. Rajakaruna called for an immediate investigation into what he described as interference with an ongoing probe.

Raising the matter in the House, Rajakaruna said he had formally requested the Commission to initiate an inquiry into the conduct of the Speaker’s Personal Secretary, Chameera Gallage, questioning the authority under which such information had been sought.

Rajapakaruna tabled in Parliament a copy of the letter allegedly sent by Gallage to the Secretary-General requesting details of the bribery complaint.

Addressing the House, Rajakaruna said that the letter, sent two days earlier, had sought “full details” of the complaint against the Speaker. He maintained that seeking such information amounted to interference with an investigation and constituted a serious offence under the Bribery Act.

“The Speaker’s Secretary has no right to interfere with the work of the Bribery Commission. Under what law is he acting? What authority does he have? The Speaker, like everyone else, is subject to the law of the land,” Rajakaruna said, urging the Commission to take immediate action.

He noted that the Bribery Act treated the obstruction of investigations and the destruction of documents relating to such inquiries as serious offences punishable by law, and said he believed the Minister of Justice would concur.

The allegations sparked sharp reactions in the Chamber, as Opposition members called for accountability and due process in relation to the complaint against the Speaker.

By Saman Indrajith