(UTV | COLOMBO) – Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Ministry plans to re-introduce the fishermen’s pension scheme.
A discussion with regard to this was held recently at the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Ministry under the patronage of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Douglas Devananda with the participation of top level officials of the department of pensions.
Both pros and cons of the fishermen’s pension scheme had been discussed at this discussion and the minister requested the Pensions Department officials to prepare a comprehensive report on this.
At this discussion, Minister stressed the importance of inspiring those engaged in fishing industry in order to accelerate the development process of the industry.
According to the statistics of the Ministry, about 69,000 fishermen benefited from the fishermen’s pension scheme introduced in 1990, but later it was decided not to enroll new beneficiaries in this pension scheme. Currently there are about 4,860 fishermen receiving pensions.
The minister pledged to take necessary measures to restructure the entire fishermen’s pension scheme and enrol new beneficiaries.