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Overseas bound female labour on the decline: CB report
There has been a sharp decline in women leaving for overseas employment, mainly to West Asia, while their male counterparts are steadily increasing, recent statistics reveal. Central Bank figures show female migrant workers of all categories declined by 138,312 in 2012 to 118,033 in 2013 and 110,489 in 2014.
There was also a sharp decrease of local housemaids to the Middle East. From 119,011 female domestics to this region in 2012, it dipped to 96,900 in 2013 and declined further to 88,661 in 2014. Meanwhile, male workers to West Asia increased from 175,185 in 2013 to 189,924 in 2014, particularly in the clerical, skilled and unskilled categories.
This was largely attributed to the increase in demand from Qatar, the report states.Officials maintained that the decline in female expatriate workers, mainly in the domestic category, was due to the mandatory requirements such as family background report to minimise the psycho-social cost of children being left behind without proper care.
However, despite these figures, Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) Chairman Nandapala Abeywickramasooriya maintained that female domestic workers to the Middle East was still on a high note. The figures in the record are those who had registered with the authorities prior to leaving the country, but there is no mention of the thousands who depart through other channels, Mr Abeywickramasooriya told the Sunday Times.
He said thousands of Lankan workers, a majority of them females, leave the country for work in the domestic sector, through clandestine channels, with the connivance of local recruiting agents, both registered and otherwise. He said that, in the past two weeks, 54 women were apprehended at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) while attempting to leave the country on visit and tourist visas.
Initial investigations revealed that the women were in fact to be employed in various categories in those countries. “This is a dangerous trend because these persons are not accountable to any authority, as they are not formally registered, and in a crisis situation it will be difficult to trace them or have a proper count,” Mr. Abeywickramasooriya added.
Meanwhile, the industry also conceded that certain local recruiting agents, along with their foreign counterparts, were involved in this practice. Faizer Maickeen of the Association for Licensed Foreign Employment Agencies (ALFEA) told the Sunday Times that an individual leaving the country on a visit or tourist visa, does not require mandatory registration at the Bureau or a medical clearance.
“All these issues are later addressed at their final destination, by the respective handling agents,” Mr. Maickeen said.