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Audit report raises concern over large downturn in foreign jobs
View(s):Sri Lanka’s Foreign employment figures are on the decline for a range of reasons, including offers from other countries to send their workers for lesser wages than what is offered to Lankan male migrant workers, an audit report has revealed.
The report points out that a ‘large downturn’ is observed throughout the past period, including job orders and job placements for Lankans.
“Sri Lanka has lost more than 55 percent employment opportunities in all sectors,” said the Special Audit report on the present situation of foreign employment. The audit was prepared by the National Audit Office.
The report points out that workers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, the Philippines and several African countries provide services at wages less than salaries prescribed for the Sri Lankan male migrant workers.
“Due to the lack of required knowledge, training, skills and experience, the local agents have not been able to provide workers for thousands of job orders found by them. This also contributed to the reduction of foreign employment,” the report said.
The decision by the government to ban women having children less than five years of age travelling for overseas employment and increasing the age of women migrating for employment from 18 to 23 years and lack of funds required for employment abroad by job seekers due to economic hardships are added reasons for the decline.
Also inadequate support and guidance from the government to develop the foreign employment market, failure to create motivation for foreign employment through the concessions granted by the government and inadequate welfare and social security measures for migrant families also have contributed for the reduction.
The report points out that the Foreign Employment Bureau has no mechanism to balance unreasonable working conditions on issues such as excessive work, lack of rest and inadequate food.
Other than some solutions given through embassies, there were no programmes to provide any support to the labour force to address issues such as physical and emotional distress, non-payment of salaries, undue deduction from salaries and extortion.
“The inconvenience of losing one’s self-esteem due to corruption or other abuses is more than the economic inconvenience resulting from losing their job,” the report noted.
The report recommends more professionals and persons trained in foreign employment through the expansion of vocational training opportunities in the fields such as health, hotels, and construction engineering should be sent for foreign jobs. It also calls for the expansion of vocational training opportunities.
The setting up of a systematic programme by the FEB to maintain records based on every migrant worker’s passport number and streamlining the present system to enable the workers to get more benefits from insurance coverage are some of its other recommendations.
The report in its conclusion says the foreign employment sector could be increased by increasing the skilled workforce in the local market, amending the FEB Act to ensure the safety and security of Lankan migrant workers and drawing a specific programme to provide a skilled labour force having National Vocational Qualification suitable for foreign labour markets.