West Asian job seekers forced to pay exorbitant rates for medical tests
Foreign employment agencies that bring large foreign income to the country are stymied by the apathy shown by the state agencies in dealing with this sector.
Thousands of people have gone abroad during the last five years for employment and of this 90 per cent of Sri Lankans are employed in West Asia, said M.F.M. Arshard, Secretary, Association of Licensed Foreign Employment Agencies (ALFEA) at a media briefing held at the Renuka Hotel Colombo last week.
He said the biggest problem that those seeking employment in West Asia is the exorbitant medical check-up bills imposed by a few medical centres in the country authorised by the Gulf Health Council. Accordingly it is mandatory to go before such medical centres to get a report on the medical condition of an applicant as no other medical institute in the country can vouch or certify a clean bill of health of the person concerned. This has created immense hardships among those who aspire to go for employment as it can cost a staggering amount of Rs.38,000.
Two months ago such medical institutes charged only Rs.18,000 from a person and now, it has gone up by 100 per cent. In the past the Consumer Affairs Authority reduced such medical bill from Rs.7,500 to Rs.4,500 to provide relief to persons but the medical institutes authorised by the Gulf Health Council failed to implement such a decision as there is a hidden agenda backed by corrupt politicians. Those who run these institutes are aligned with powerful politicians who back them.
There are nine such medical centres approved by the Gulf Health Council in Colombo and five at Kurunegala. Due to the present transport crisis people find it extremely difficult to travel these days. The situation becomes worse when a husband and a wife who arrive in Colombo are allocated different centres far apart located in Colombo. He further reiterated that persons themselves have to foot the medical examination bills amounting to Rs.38,000. When a person fails a medical test during 21 days, he needs to apply again pocketing out another Rs.38,000 for the second time.
“We sincerely hope that the present minister allocated for overseeing the Foreign Employment Bureau will clean the Augean Stable. The irony of it is that these medical centres are manned by MBBS qualified doctors and they do not recognise expert opinions of specialised and more qualified physicians. When people go abroad they have to face another medical test and if they fail they are deported at their own expense and no compensation is paid by the local ministry. The Sri Lankan Ministry dealing with the problem is inept and this spill-over effect can harm the industry. The problems are manifold and the ministry is wallowing in the mud. The lingering uneasiness faced by the local employment agencies is great owing to price fluctuations of medical tests,” he added.
ALFEA President M.F. Marikkar said the only way open to bring US dollars to the country quickly is through Sri Lankan workers employed in West Asia. If people do not go abroad for employment the country will face a grave situation. He said Sri Lankan officials have shown step motherly treatment as far as those who aspire to go to West Asia for employment.
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