New contract efforts to protect migrant workers
Sri Lankan job seekers heading to West Asia and several other countries for work in the industrial and corporate sectors must now get their employment contracts certified by Sri Lankan embassies in their destination countries.
This rule, introduced by the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) starting July 1, is aimed at safeguarding migrant workers and curbing exploitation, an official of the Foreign Employment Ministry disclosed. While this process was there in the past, it was not fully implemented.
The certification process, which had been originally scheduled to take effect on June 7, was delayed but is now in full implementation.
SLBFE labour attachés abroad should validate service agreements of Sri Lankans applying for jobs in 13 countries—including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, and South Korea in accordance with the new regulation. A fee of US$60 will be charged for the certification.
This was the result of increasing incidents of harassment and abasement experienced by some of Sri Lanka’s migrant workers, especially in West Asia.
Over the years, many Sri Lankan job seekers fell prey to human trafficking networks, contract switching, wage fraud, and abusive employers’ issues.
According to the SLBFE, this measure will particularly impact those who go abroad through self-arranged employment or informal job agents, a category that lacks the protections guaranteed under agency-recruited employment.
But professionals such as doctors, engineers, and IT specialists are exempt from this clause, if they produce genuine documents such as a passport evidencing professional status or equivalent qualifications at the time of registering with the bureau.
For many Sri Lankans, foreign employment remains one of the few viable options amid domestic economic struggles.
Remittances are a lifesaver to the country’s economy, but this dependency has generally come at the cost of workers’ security. Rights groups and migrant repatriates reported cases of abuses, particularly against poorly qualified workers such as housemaids and construction workers.
The SLBFE has the new certification rule as part of an overall initiative to promote employee protection, impose ethical recruiting practices, and render job contracts clear.
The bureau recommends candidates to verify the authenticity of job offers and refrain from using unauthorized agents.
Over 1.5 million Sri Lankans work outside the country now, the majority in Gulf nations, and the government is hoping that enhanced monitoring will stem abuse while nevertheless maintaining the flow of foreign exchange to the country.
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