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Indians to work in Lankan fields
View(s):Minister cites labour shortage in North and East; offers three-month visas
By Nadia Fazlulhaq
Indian nationals are to be granted work visas to harvest paddy in the North and East, Agriculture Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said yesterday. “The Government is helpless as our people are leaving the country to work as labourers in countries in West Asia, Singapore, South Korea and Italy,” he told the Sunday Times. He conceded that Indian nationals were working in paddy fields in the North and East having come to the country on tourist visas. “It (the labour shortage) is now spreading to the North-Central and Southern provinces too,” he added.
The move comes after the Immigration Controller and a team of officials visited the Eastern Province to assess the situation. A senior Immigration official said that they had informed District Secretaries to collect information on the labour shortage.He said that when the proposal to give work visas to Indians came into force, a request to the Immigration Department should come from the Agriculture or the Labour Ministry. This would also be discussed with the Defence Ministry.
He said the farmer community in the Ampara, Batticaloa, Kilinochchi, Polonnaruwa, Trincomalee and Vavuniya districts had requested District Secretaries to allow South Indians to work in the fields as there was a shortage of labour and South Indian labour was cheaper. Farmers complain that there were difficulties in finding labour to harvest paddy and operate the tractor-driven harvesting equipment popularly known as the ‘tsunami’ in paddy cultivating areas.
Recently a number of Indian labourers were arrested for overstaying the one-month visit visa. More than 20 Indian labourers, including nine women, who had overstayed were sent back to India last year. “These Indians are not deported but are sent back to India on humanitarian grounds. They can come back and work in paddy fields,” the Immigration officer said.
Investment Promotion Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said there was a labour shortage in all sectors including agriculture and construction. “As our labourers cannot work in steel factories under extreme heat conditions, we have to bring down labourers on six month visas. Similarly there are many sectors and companies that bring down labourers from India, China, the Maldives and other countries,” he said.
Agriculture Ministry Secretary W. Sakalasooriya said: “The farmers say that the Indians can be employed on a low wage. They can do more work and these labourers know how to operate the harvesting machines efficiently,” he said. Despite a written request, the Indian High Commission in Colombo did not comment on the issue.
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