Women who came for training to go overseas hospitalized due to food poison

Mar 31, 2016

26 women who came to undergo a residential training conducted by the foreign employment bureau office situated at Tangalle Godigamuwa prior to their foreign employment, has caused food poison and hospitalized at the Tangalle hospital.

Out of 16 patients who were hospitalized on the 29th, 13 women who got residential treatment has left the hospital yesterday 30th and another ten patients who were admitted yesterday 30th are still taking treatment, said a worker in the Tangalle hospital. He said the women were having diarrhea and vomiting symptoms and the hospital diagnosing the cause for the disease.

Prior to going for employment in Gulf, training would be provided to the women by the foreign employment bureau. There are 121 women who are undergoing this training at the Tangalle office.

The women who undergo training said, the foreign employment bureau give a 40 day residential training prior to the foreign employment and the bureau is charging Rs. 12,822 from each applicant. In addition to this, the bureau is charging another Rs. 12,000 for food. The women also said although we pay the foreign employment bureau they fail to provide us proper meals.

The women came for the training said the food is provided to the training center by a women residing in the Tangalle city. They said the food she supplies is unclean and stale. Although they have complained about this many times to the officers at the foreign employment bureau, they have not taken any consideration in to the matter.

The women who undergo the training say until they change the caterer and provide us with a clean meal they are going to protest against this. When we inquired this from the officer attached to the Tangalle immigration resource centre, he refrained giving us information.

“Earlier we got food in a blue basket, now we get food packets, we cannot eat those. We have paid for our food, therefore we need good food. Sometimes when I complain this I would not be able to go overseas” Said Swarnalatha, a women undergoing training.

When we inquired about this from Upul Deshapriya the spokesperson of the foreign employment bureau said “There was an official lady who supplied food for this training center. The manager of the Tangalle Godigamuwa office stopped this lady and gave the order to a man whose wife is working in our office. That cannot be like that. We inquired in to the matter and reappointed the old lady. On the same day this tragedy happened.

“We have informed the health officers to investigate in to the matter and report us. However the foreign employment bureau spokesperson Upul Deshapriya said he has given instructions to conduct an inquiry about the supply of food without following proper hygienic procedures”