Thursday, October 29, 2020

  Academics Call For Corporate And State Responsibility On Managing Covid-19 In Sri Lanka



OCTOBER 28, 2020

“As the number of COVID-19 cases increases, it is vital that both corporate and state entities prioritize the health and safety of workers, to prevent further outbreaks as happened at the Brandix factory,” 55 Sri Lankan academics around the world have said today.


We publish below the statement in full:

We the undersigned academics who work on Sri Lanka are disturbed by the lack of transparency and accountability by Brandix and SriLankan Airlines in the context of the threat posed to the country by COVID-19. These corporations have not shared with relevant state bodies information essential for managing COVID-19, including the original flight rosters about workers flown into Sri Lanka. As a result, a number of workers have been blamed and maligned as super-spreaders, with questionable treatment around their confinement. Treatment of workers in this way negates these companies’ duty to be transparent and claim to be responsible toward workers.

We are also concerned about reports that workers are being treated inhumanely by the authorities responsible for quarantining suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19. We stand in solidarity with workers and their advocates in calling for a more humane treatment in public health responses. While acknowledging the exemplary efforts of the front-line medical teams attending to CoVID-19, we urge the state and the media to adopt a compassionate – rather than punitive – approach towards people that have been tested positively. These patients need the best possible physical and mental care and not the counter-productive stigma attached to the infection.

Citizens of Sri Lanka, including workers, require these corporations and country-level COVID-19 response teams to be held accountable in order to ensure that they, as the public, are absolved from the on-going shifting of blame onto workers. As importantly – during the time of a global pandemic – the information withheld by Brandix and Sri Lankan Airlines is critical for the Public Health authorities to discharge their duties with integrity and professionalism. As the number of COVID-19 cases increases, it is vital that both corporate and state entities prioritize the health and safety of workers, to prevent further outbreaks as happened at the Brandix factory.

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