New manual for overseas missions to more effectively tackle migrant worker issues
View(s):NGOs say effort too late as Government ineffective in tackling Nafeek issues
By Quintus Perera
A new manual to help Sri Lankan diplomats in missions in other countries to more effectively tackle nagging issues relating to migrant workers was launched last week by the Government.
However it came too late, according to activists working to support the rights of migrant workers, as Rizana Nafeek, the underage Sri Lankan maid in death row in Saudi Arabia for accidentally killing an infant, was executed after years of dilly-dallying by the government.
“What is the use of this manual when officers in our missions are so ineffective in tacking these issues,” asked on activist from an NGO who was present at the launch. He told the Business Times that the government in fact was not interested in helping these workers in distress and only concerned about “counting the foreign exchange earned by these workers”.
At the launch of the manual at a Colombo ceremony just six days before Wednesday’s execution of the Sri Lankan maid, Nissanka Wijeratne, Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare said earlier manuals for officers in Sri Lankans missions in labour receiving countries were ad-hoc and did not have the necessary authority.
The present manual is compiled with professionalism and consists of standard practices. It has been formulated by the Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare with funds and technical assistance by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Swiss Development Cooperation.
Mr Wijeratne said that Sri Lankan migrant workers annual foreign exchange contribution amounts to US$ 6.1 billion and accounts for 35 per cent of the country’s total foreign exchange earnings.
Donglin Li, ILO Country Director for Sri Lanka and Maldives, said that the production of the ‘Operational Manual’ is a key activity under the ILO implemented project on “Promoting decent work through good governance, protection and empowerment of migrant workers’.
He said that this manual would help to ensure the effective implementation of the Sri Lanka National Labour Migration Policy and he hoped that the Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare and the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment would take forward the commitments in that policy.
In a situation where around 1.8 million Sri Lankans live overseas as labour migrants and thus represent more than one third of Sri Lanka’s population, it is important that their rights and freedoms are protected in Sri Lanka and overseas, he said adding that the ILO is committed to support the government to strengthen the governance, protection and empowerment of migrant workers.
Meanwhile in the wake of Ms Nafeek’s death by execution, Dr. M.Inamullah, former Consul General for Sri Lanka in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia offered some advice to all the Sri Lankans working in the Middle East on lessons learnt from this unfortunate development.
He said migrant workers should demand from the government a legal aid programme along with a permanent fund to provide them legal support if they fall into a difficulty and requires legal action.
He says his experience was that diplomatic missions depend on Arabic translators to appear before courts in the Middle East as the labour counselors and labour welfare officers are mostly not fluent in Arabic language.
He says the missions do not have budget allocations to provide legal support to expatriate workers or a comprehensive insurance scheme to secure their safety out of the country.
Dr Inamullah said officers in missions should be trained by the Ministry of Justice on Islamic Shariah law customs and traditions and on the long run have fluent Arabic-speaking lawyers at least one in a mission.
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