Saving lives our priority: President at ILO Summit

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said although the repatriation of Sri Lankan workers from overseas in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic made a considerable change to the country’s overall employment profile, its aim was to secure the lives of the workforce

Addressing the ILO Global Summit on “COVID-19 and the World of Work – Building a Better Future of Work” yesterday, the President said Sri Lanka has a considerable workforce who are employed overseas.

“Even during the period when restrictions for air travel were in force , We repatriated nearly 15,000 Sri Lankans from destinations abroad so far,” the President said.

The Summit hosted by the International Labour Organisation which commenced on July 1st will continue till the 9th July. Secretary-general of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, Director-general of the

World Health Organisation and Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu and several world leaders addressed the largest ever online gathering of workers, employers and governments.

Participants are discussing how to address the economic and social impact of the pandemic, which has laid bare the extreme vulnerability of millions of workers and enterprises.

The Global Summit examines a range of issues, including how to promote full and productive employment in this new environment, what needs to be done to address the massive vulnerabilities in the world of work made evident by the pandemic, which workers require particular support and attention, how to position the reduction and elimination of poverty as central objectives of the recovery process and how the international community can come together with real common purpose and rededicate itself to the delivery of the UN’S 2030 Agenda.