News
Employment Authority to regulate foreign jobs
View(s):The Government is to set up an Employment Migration Authority to regulate the foreign employment sector – the single largest source of foreign exchange for the country. A new law setting up this body will replace the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment Act which has been in force for the past 28 years. During this period, the number of Sri Lankans employed abroad had risen from 14,456 in 1986 to 282,331 in 2012, according to Foreign Employment Promotion Minister Dilan Perera.
The proposed new law will have eight different bodies to regulate the foreign employment sector:
- A National Advisory Council on Employment Migration.
- Sri Lanka Employment Migration Authority replacing the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau.
- Sri Lanka Rata Viruwo Foundation, in which every migrant worker overseas will be a member through a nominee.
- Overseas Sri Lanka Foundation, where Sri Lankans resident overseas will be members.
- Worker’s Welfare Fund.
- Foreign Employment Promotion Fund.
- National Chamber of Foreign Employment Agencies.
- Board of Review to hear appeals against decisions of the Sri Lanka Employment Migration Authority.
Minister Perera has noted in a memorandum to the Cabinet that “an unhealthy development is the emergence of more than 10,000 sub agents and many migration consultants who are not regulated by any Act of Parliament. Another phenomenon that merits serious consideration is the presence of nearly 30,000 foreign workers in Sri Lanka,” he has observed.
The minister has pointed out that “Based on demographic projections, with Sri Lanka having a low population growth rate that is comparable with the developed countries; in future it may become necessary to import certain categories of workers, in a more organized manner. At present there is no proper institutional framework to regulate the recruitment of foreign workers to work in Sri Lanka and even health checks are not conducted before or immediately after the entry of foreign workers.”
According to Minister Perera, during 2012 the foreign employment sector contributed US $ 5.98 billion (Rs 764 billion) which is 33 per cent of the country’s total foreign exchange earnings. He has said that nearly 25 per cent of Sri Lanka’s population is impacted by this sector.