Deputy Minister Perera distributed the compensation and salary arrears among 12 beneficiaries at the ministry. The beneficiaries had come from different parts of the country.
Around Rs. 14 million was distributed among the beneficiaries. Some received over Rs. 2.5 million as compensation and outstanding salaries due the employees who had died or become disabled due to natural causes, accidents and industrial hazards.
The family members of the deceased and disabled migrant workers thanked the External Affairs Ministry and Sri Lanka missions in the Middle Eastern countries for assisting them to receive this compensations and outstanding wages. Wife of deceased migrant worker Thyagaraja Vivkananda, Ariyamalar Vivekanandan who came to receive her husband’s unpaid wages told the Daily News that her husband died of a heart attack two months ago in Qatar. He was a plumber.
She said her husband was the sole bread winner of the family.
"I am happy to have received this sum which was due to my husband. I am grateful to the External Affairs Ministry and the Sri Lanka Mission in Qatar for assisting me to get this amount. I have three children. I expect that the government will be able to give my daughter a job," she said. Deceased migrant worker Saman Priyantha’s wife C.K. Dissanayake said she was left with three sons since her husband who worked as a driver in Saudi Arabia died. Her eldest son is doing his Advanced Level exam this year. The other two are 13 and 12 years.
"I only expect that the government helps them to continue with their education. I have got my mother to assist me in a little way, but that is hardly enough," she said. "We are thankful to the External Affairs Ministry for obtaining this money from my husband’s employer," she added.
