Services sector liberalisation in the Sri Lanka-Singapore FTA stirs professional groups
Amidst many allegations made against the signing of the Sri Lanka – Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA) in January this year, the liberalisation of the services sector is creating chaos among professional organisations in the country. The perceived lack of restrictions on Singaporeans coming into Sri Lanka on business and work visas and non-transparency of the Schedules of Commitments (SoC) in the agreement is the root cause.
Several members from the Institute of Engineers Sri Lanka (IESL), Sri Lanka Institute of Architects (SLIA), Institution of Incorporated Engineers Sri Lanka, Institute of Quantity Surveyors Sri Lanka, Institute of Town Planners Sri Lanka, Institute of Landscape Architects and Institution of Surveyors gathered for a media briefing last Wednesday at the SLIA, to raise concerns about the FTA and urging that it be presented to Parliament immediately.
SLIA President D.H. Wijewardene told reporters that in 2015, a 42-page document was submitted to the government by the professional bodies in Sri Lanka to consider before the agreement was signed. But no response or progress was taken to discuss the document with the professionals. “Many areas in the FTA on professionals and investments coming into Sri Lanka remained open creating space for regulations potentially damaging the Sri Lankan economy,” he added.
He also mentioned that the agreement was signed without disclosing or consulting any professionals in the country, a charge denied by government authorities. Many letters have been sent by the professional bodies to the government to consider for which none of them was responded to.
IESL President Niranjanie Ratnayake stressed, being a well-developed country Singapore has gone into each and every detail of restrictions before signing the FTA. Sri Lanka has not done much of that. SoC is a very important document that the government should have consulted professional bodies.
“When opportunities for Singaporeans are created by far in Sri Lanka, graduates here will not have many opportunities. There will be tough competition between the Sri Lankans and Singaporeans for jobs. The FTA states that Singaporean Permanent Resident (PR) holders can also come into Sri Lanka which in turn will allow citizens from other countries holding Singaporean PR to come and work here. There are no clear regulations stated in the agreement for who, the level of qualification and the period of stay in Sri Lanka,” noted Ms. Ratnayake.
Sri Lanka doesn’t have proper employment based visa regulations. There are many foreigners who have come to Sri Lanka on business visas and have remained for long. There is no tracking mechanism for that, stated IESL Vice President Arjuna Manamperi.
| “No liberalisation whatsoever.” Ministry says | |
| The Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade in a statement following concerns raised by professionals said that the “Movement of Natural Persons” from Singapore has not been opened except for intra-corporate transferees in senior management and business visitors linked to investments. There is no liberalisation whatsoever of independent movement of natural persons (not linked to investment), it said adding that business visitors will be permitted for a period of not more than 30 days for purposes such as market scoping, business agreements and so on. Extracts of the statement are as follows: “Corporate transferees (transferees from a branch of a company with an investment in Sri Lanka) are also limited to Managers, Executives and Specialists who are clearly defined in the relevant schedules of the agreement. Their period of entry is also limited initially up to two years or over the period of contract, whichever is less with an extension not exceeding a total of five years. No Movement of Persons either Singapore citizens or permanent residence has been opened in professional services. The concern that engineering and architectural services have been opened is also incorrect. This Ministry wishes to state that the only commitment is for cross border services (via the Internet – and not relating to movement of people) and that too limited only to predesign advisory and consultative services and does not include the practice of architectural or engineering profession. This is only through use of Internet and other means and not through investment, commercial presence, of movement of professionals to the country. Providing this type of services is already possible through the existing regulation and legislative framework. Thus, establishing a company for providing these advisory services in the country or Movement of Natural Person to provide such services is not permitted under this agreement. It should be emphasised that Sri Lanka has not undertaken any liberalisation exceeding the prevailing investment regime.” The new regulations under the Immigration Act in order to strengthen the regulatory framework have almost been finalized and will be submitted to the Cabinet shortly. When they come into force, they will address the concerns raised by the professional associations as well as other stakeholders. The regulations will stipulate procedures to be followed when employing foreign nationals, categories of employment, employer and employee obligations, and the roles to be played by the professional bodies on recognition of qualifications, etc. It has also been stated that this agreement would lead to several non-citizens of Singapore arriving into Sri Lanka including PR holders and citizens of India, Bangladesh and other countries. It should be mentioned that the entire permanent resident population of Singapore is only 527,000 in 2017. Second, the SLSFTA does not permit any permanent resident to work in Sri Lanka. The only permitted entrants are those who qualify as corporate transferees: i.e., persons employed by a Singaporean company with investments in Sri Lanka. Third, such persons would have to be employed in that company for at least 12 months. Furthermore, only the most skilled and highest tiered personnel are eligible – this is clearly defined in the schedules. Fifth, if a person has a ‘dominant and effective nationality’ in a third country, such persons would be excluded. Therefore, a Singapore company cannot send a citizen of another country to work in Sri Lanka.” |