50,000 jobless workers in Lanka to get doles

The Sri Lankan government has decided to provide doles for over 50,000 of its workers who lost their jobs due to the global downturn.

Workers in various private sectors, who lost employment due to the economic crisis, will be given financial benefits under a special ‘Unemployment Benefit Insurance Scheme’ on a directive by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

As per the scheme launched under the Labour Department’s Jobs Net program, each worker will be paid between SLR 4,000 and SLR 12,000 for two years, commencing this September.

People who had worked less than 180 days at a monthly remuneration of less than SLRs 20,000 are entitled to avail the benefits.

However, the applicants should be contributors to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Employees Trust Fund (ETF) with a minimum of one-year service immediately prior to termination, officials said.