The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) has revealed alarming irregularities at the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE), including the migration of 683 underage individuals as domestic workers between May 2023 and June 2024.
The findings were disclosed during a recent COPE meeting at the Parliament Complex.
– Underage Migrants: 683 underage persons were sent abroad as domestic workers due to ad hoc and irregular procedures. – Training Revenue Loss: The SLBFE incurred a loss of Rs 631.1 million by failing to provide mandatory residential training to 28,165 first-time migrant domestic workers. – Tourist Visa Abuse: 4,942 domestic workers were sent abroad on tourist visas, bypassing proper channels. – Financial Mismanagement: The SLBFE spent excessively on renting and purchasing shops for programs, including Rs 500,000 for a shop in Jaffna and Rs 12.5 million for 25 shops, based on recommendations from the Ministry Secretary.
Sri Lanka Police have launched an investigation into a video going viral on social media, which depicts a female tuition teacher being escorted by police motorcycles and vehicles to an event organized by her.
Police Media Spokesperson SSP Buddhika Manathunga confirmed that the individual in question is a private tuition teacher who conducts classes for students preparing for the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination.
Addressing the controversy, SSP Manathunga explained that the Sri Lanka Police may provide officers and vehicles for specific public affairs — such as for filming a movie — but only after a thorough intelligence review of the request and its context, including the script.
He further clarified that police officers may also be deployed for public events such as musical shows or ticketed functions, but this is permitted only upon payment of a required fee.
In this particular case, the teacher is reported to have requested police support, claiming it was needed for a ceremony honoring students who had successfully passed the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination. The event was said to involve nearly 8,000 students and 35,000 parents.
However, preliminary investigations have revealed that the teacher may have used the police escort to boost her personal image, raising serious concerns about the misuse of state resources.
Police have since launched an inquiry into how the vehicles and officers were allocated for the event, and whether any police personnel were complicit in the unauthorized use of official resources, SSP Manathunga said.
According to reports, the SriLankan Airlines’ management has decided to immediately call up retired cabin crew members to service, following the ‘work to rule’ campaign launched by the Cabin Crew Members Association.
The SriLankan Airlines Cabin Crew Members Association launched a ‘work to rule’ campaign in April, citing several demands, including the reallocation of their onboard meal allowance.
In this backdrop, the national carrier is said to be operating with a reduced number of cabin crew which was further affected by the recent retirement of a significant number of experienced senior staff.
The staff were retired stating that individuals over the age of 60 would no longer be retained.
Efforts to extend the retirement age had been unsuccessful.
Even though they had directed a formal request to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Dec. 12, 2024, no response was received, reports add.
