Representatives of the Association of Licensed Foreign Employment Agencies (ALFEA) have protested that the association was not invited to Friday’s official swearing in of the new Foreign Employment Minister, Dilan Perera.
ALFEA secretary Faizer Mackeen said the association has always been invited to official functions relating to foreign employment, and blamed the omission on red-tape bureaucracy and lethargy at the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLFEB).
Mr. Mackeen said the ALFEA is an incorporated, semi-government association under the SLFEB Act No. 21 of 1985, and it was entitled to representation at such official functions. “We are a large stakeholder in the foreign employment industry, and the relevant authorities should co-operate with us, rather than take a confrontational stand,” he said.
Mr. Mackeen added that several issues between the ALFEA and the SLFEB needed to be sorted out, and he hoped the new minister would work towards this end.
Meanwhile, SLFEB Additional General Manager, L. K. Ruhunuge, said no invitations to the swearing in were sent out to any particular person or group, including ALFEA. “Those who attended the ceremony came on their own as well-wishers, and the ALFEA could have done the same,” Mr. Ruhunuge added. |
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