News
Issues arise over move to send Sri Lankans to work in Israeli farms
View(s):By Damith Wickremasekara
Moves by Sri Lanka’s Labour Ministry to fill vacancies created by departing Palestinian workers on Israeli-run agricultural farms owing to the ongoing war in the area have run into issues.
While Sri Lanka’s Labour and Foreign Employment Ministry has initiated discussions with the Israeli embassy based in New Delhi to secure job opportunities for Lankans in Israel, the country’s Ambassador in Tel Aviv Nimal Bandara is pressing for Colombo to get those already inside the country (Israel) awaiting deportation for overstaying their visas to be regularised so that they can continue to work there.
The entire issue of seeking these jobs is mired in Sri Lanka’s foreign policy that supports the Palestinian people against ongoing aggression by the Israeli government forcing them to leave their homes due to the conflict, and thereby be deprived of their employment.
The vacancies have been created due to the shortage of labour in the agricultural sector, as the Palestinians who daily joined for agricultural work from Gaza and the West Bank have been stopped by the Government of Israel.
A Foreign Employment and Labour Ministry spokesman said there was an offer for 10,000 job opportunities for
Sri Lankans and they were discussing sending about 1,000 Lankans for jobs in the Israeli agricultural sector.
Foreign Employment and Labour Minister Manusha Nanayakkara has held discussions on plans to send some 1,000 workers for the jobs within a month while gradually increasing the numbers up to 5,000.
The spokesman said males between the age groups of 25 and 39 would be selected through the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau.
The official said there were some 2,000 Lankans who have been overstaying their visas in Israel, but they would not be considered for the jobs as they have already violated the agreements with the Bureau.
Ambassador Bandara has communicated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that there are more than 10,000 vacancies in the agriculture sector and the government of Israel is willing to recruit experienced agricultural workers for its farms immediately.
However, Mr. Bandara has made no mention about recruiting persons from Sri Lanka. Instead, has only drawn reference to the Sri Lankans already in Israel who have overstayed their visas.
He noted that there are over 2,000 Sri Lankans living in Israel without valid visas. Among them are persons who arrived on a six month agricultural training programme and did not return, some 1,000 care-givers, about 400 Lankans who entered from the Israel-Jordon border, people who arrived in boats and those who had arrived on tourist visas.
The best way to say that you found the home of your dreams is by finding it on Hitad.lk. We have listings for apartments for sale or rent in Sri Lanka, no matter what locale you're looking for! Whether you live in Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Matara, Jaffna and more - we've got them all!