Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has appealed to all industrialists and businessmen to protect their employees and face the challenges caused by the Covid pandemic instead of dismissing them. This was stated in a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Media Unit. The Prime Minister made these remarks at a discussion held at Temple Trees on the issues faced by the Sri Lanka Apparel Brands Association and the Sri Lanka Retailers Association. Delegates spoke on issues such as obtaining bank loan concessions, resolving issues in opening letters of credit, vaccinating garment workers, obtaining permission to open readymade garment shops as per Covid guidelines, Employees Provident Fund and Employees Trust Fund issues. The delegation said that their businesses had been hindered for nearly 24 months due to the Easter Sunday terror attack and the Covid-19 global pandemic and requested the Prime Minister to provide emergency relief through the Ministry of Finance to maintain business and trade. Representatives of those unions said it was difficult to keep employees in business and that they had no choice but to lay them off.