A Japan-funded project titled Supporting Grassroots Activities through the International Employers’ and Workers’ Network (SGRA), is to be implemented in Sri Lanka in 2018 in order to support workers of the informal sector.
The project is planned to be implemented in Sri Lanka on the invitation of Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) General Secretary Arumugan Thondaman.
A team of CWC officials led by K. Marimuttu attended a tripartite meeting on SGRA in Kathmandu, Nepal, last month. The meeting was attended by representatives from Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Bangladesh as well. This inaugural meeting paid high compliments to the Japanese government and to the Japan International Labour Foundation (JILAF), for the initiatives taken to implement the SGRA project this year in Sri Lanka.
The project would involve organising workers' life support seminars, providing vocational training, bridging existing schemes and establishing mutual aid among workers.
Marimuttu assured the fullest support and co-operation of the CWC for the project:
“More than 65 percent of workers in Sri Lanka are in the informal sector. The Japanese government’s efforts to reach this sector through JILAF, are commendable and the project would aid the betterment of their lives,” he said.
JILAF Deputy Secretary-General Ryo Saito and Deputy Representative Yuki Otsuji plan to visit Sri Lanka in May, this year, to conduct further discussions on the project with MP Arumugam Thondaman.
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