Some 80% of unemployed graduates in the country are women who struggle due to no available income which will have grave social and economic implications if the government does not address the problem, the Combined Association of Unemployed Graduates said today .
The association threatened to go on an all-island protest next week if the government did not provide jobs for over 40,000 unemployed graduates in the country.
The association’s Convener Dammika Munasinghe said this will be a growing burden to the country if the government does not provide jobs for them. “With the increasing cost of living it has become vital for men and women to have jobs but the government has not paid any heed to our pleas,”
Munasinghe said since 2005 the number of unemployed graduates has increased from 5,000 to 40,000 despite the governments promises to provide jobs for unemployed graduates.
He said according to the Mahinda Chinthana the government was expected to provide 10,000 jobs in 2006. In the 2007 budget 8,000 jobs were promised and in the 2008 budget 15,000 were promised. In 2009 14,500 jobs were promised and in August this year 30,000 jobs were promised to unemployed graduates and non-graduates but that they were not provided.
“These promises were never fulfilled by the government despite their promises. We are asking them once more and to keep their word,” he said. (By Olindhi Jayasundere)
DM