News
SLBFE warns job agencies against opposition to new regulations
View(s):Authorities yesterday warned foreign job recruiting agencies to fall in line with the new set of regulations, or face the consequences that could include cancellation of their operational licence. But the industry said it would continue its agitation until there is a re-think on the issue.Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) General Manager Harischandra Bategoda told the Sunday Times that the new regulations, including a National Vocational Qualification (VNQ) test for females taking up placement in the domestic sector in West Asian countries, was in the better interest of the worker, and that the industry should cooperate towards this end, instead of protesting.
He said that it was now compulsory for a female domestic worker to obtain an endorsement from the local police, Grama Sevaka and the respective Divisional Secretariat (DS), before final approval could be obtained from the SLBFE.
“All this will have to be done together with the assistance of the respective recruiting agent, who will have to take the ultimate responsibility”, Mr Bategoda added.
He said that SLBFE officials attached to the respective DS offices throughout the country, have also been tasked to visit the homes of prospective female domestics heading for West Asia, to assess their ground situation such as their family status, and who will be the guardian of their children, if any, when the mother leaves the country.
Time and again, the SLBFE has been blamed whenever there is an incident involving a local housemaid in a foreign country, leading to calls to bring an end to such recruitment.
“However, this is a democracy, and we cannot stop a citizen, whatever their gender, from leaving the country for employment, or otherwise. However, efforts are currently under way to regulate the recruitment system and bring an end to ad hoc placements that have often led to various issues such as the recent beheading of Sri Lankan housemaid Rizana Rafiq in Saudi Arabia.
“But the industry feels that all this would hurt their business. This should never be the case. All stakeholders must work together, so that our citizens who take up employment overseas in the domestic sector or whatever, are treated with a certain degree of dignity. The industry must have a re-think on their current position,” Mr. Bategoda said.
Faizer Maickeen of the Association for Licensed Foreign Employment Agencies (ALFEA) told the Sunday Times that the additional bureaucratic red tape will only go to dwarf the progress of the industry, and thereby, Sri Lanka would lose out on the foreign job market.“Not only that, the country also stands to lose vital foreign exchange, at a time when the economy is taking a free fall. At the moment, Sri Lankan expatriate workers remit something like US$ 6 billion annually, with US$ 2 billion from domestic workers alone,” Mr. Maickeen said.
He added that another regulation requires the relevant recruiting agent to be present at an inquiry, whenever there is a complaint from a domestic worker in the area where the persons lives.“This is not practical, as an agent could be intimidated and even bodily harmed by the complainant’s relatives and fellow villagers during such inquiries, which are often of a sensitive nature”, he said.
He added that the agitation campaign against these new regulations began on Tuesday, when hundreds of licenced recruiting agencies, together with their support staff, held a protest outside the SLBFE office in Battaramulla.“We sought a meeting with Foreign Employment Minister Dilan Perera, but he was not available, and instead, a memorandum was handed over to SLBFE Chairman Amal Senadhilankara, who promised a response at the very earliest.
Follow @timesonlinelk
comments powered by Disqus