Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath has dismissed claims that the former Deputy High Commissioner to Australia, Himalee Arunatilaka, was involved in any wrongdoing, after she was fined hundreds of thousands of dollars by an Australian court for “egregious and exploitative” treatment of a domestic worker.
At a media briefing held last week, Herath said that Sri Lankan diplomatic staff, including those stationed overseas, are allowed to employ assistants or domestic workers in accordance with Sri Lanka’s diplomatic protocol. He explained that the domestic worker involved in this case was brought to Australia following the same protocol, and her salary was paid according to Sri Lankan government guidelines.
“This is a problematic situation, as the salaries offered by Sri Lanka are less than that offered by other foreign countries, such as Australia, Europe, and Australia. Our rates are lower than the wages offered by these countries. This is so as our rates are based on our country’s economic state,” he said.
Herath further claimed that the salaries of these workers are not drawn from the personal funds of the officials but are instead allocated by the Sri Lankan government.
He said that despite the legal actions taken under Australian law, there was no evidence of fraud or financial corruption on Arunatilaka’s part.
"The government will take a policy decision in this regard in the future. We regret that Himalee Arunatilaka had to face such a situation due to state protocol," he added.
Last month, the Australian Federal Court ordered Arunatilaka to pay her former employee, Priyanka Danaratna, a sum of $374,000 in unpaid wages, along with an additional $169,000 in interest. Furthermore, the court imposed a penalty of $117,000.
The case revolves around Danaratna, a domestic worker from Sri Lanka, who was employed by Arunatilaka in Canberra from 2015 until 2018. During that period, she worked long hours, seven days a week, for wages that amounted to less than 90 cents per day. Danaratna testified that she was subjected to harsh working conditions, including long hours of cooking, cleaning, and household maintenance, and that her passport was confiscated, leaving her isolated and without freedom.
David Hillard, Danaratna’s lawyer, criticised the lack of accountability, stating, “She’s in a very senior diplomatic role now in Geneva. I think it’s absolutely appalling that this can be allowed to happen. But I think it also reflects on perhaps the nature of the diplomatic world… that perhaps Arunatilaka and the Sri Lankan government have not viewed what she’s done as something particularly extraordinary.”
