Garnering migrant workers support
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Last week, a Sri Lankan migrant working at a farm on the Israeli-Lebanon border was injured in a missile attack on Israeli positions by Hezbollah militants based in Lebanon. He suffered head injuries and was rushed tohospital.
While his condition was deemed not serious, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Israel Nimal Bandara has urged Sri Lankans working in Israel, particularly on this border – which witnesses regular border skirmishes between Israel and Lebanon – to go into designated shelters when sirens are sounded alerting an attack.
In his context, should the government have promoted jobs in Israel when the country is at war? Thousands of positions were offered in Israel with the Labour and Foreign Employment Minister Manusha Nanayakkara saying they hoped to send 10,000 workers to Israel after a first batch of 1,000 workers was sent.
These opportunities came after Tel Aviv stopped workers from the West Bank and Gaza daily crossing over to Israel, leaving a huge gap and an acute labour shortage particularly in farms and construction sites which led to the authorities to source labour from other countries. Sri Lanka grabbed the opportunity but was it a wise decision given that workers were, without a doubt, going to face dangers from missile strikes? People out of desperation grab such opportunities.
This was part of a conversation when Pedris Appo – short for Appuhamy, a retired agriculture expert now dabbling in farming, called me on Thursday morning as I was listening to the ‘under-the-margosa tree’ conversation by the trio.
“I heard that some of our workers are facing difficulties in Israel,” he said. “They are … in fact there was one report of a Sri Lankan national getting injured in a missile strike by Hezbollah militants on the Israel-Lebanon border,” I said.
“We need to be cautious in promoting job opportunities in war- affected areas. Even if Sri Lankans venture out into seeking jobs in war-zones, it is incumbent on the authorities to advise on the dangers of working in these areas,” he said, adding that in this case it was the government that was gleefully promoting these jobs saying it was safe to work in Israel and that the jobs were located far away from the war-torn areas.
“Well that is not the case. Our envoy in Israel is saying
Sri Lankans should move into designated shelters when sirens are sounded of impending attack, which means that
Sri Lankans are working in war-affected areas contrary to what the Minister is saying in Colombo,” I said, after which we ended the conversation.
Some 50 Sri Lankan workers are also stranded in a terrorist camp in Myanmar and forced to work on cybercrime sites. They have been lured with tourist visit visas, entering Thailand and crossing over to Myanmar, and now held hostage and prevented from leaving the site. There are also regular fighting between government forces and anti-government groups.
As I pondered over these issues, I went back into the kitchen to listen to the conversation by the trio. “Magey naeda kenek Israele rassaywakate yanna bala poroththu wenawa. Eth api eyata ehe thiyana uddey gana kiwwa, eka hinda pravesam wenna kiyala (One of my relatives is planning to get a job in Israel but we have told him to be careful as there is a war going on there),” said Kussi Amma Sera.
“Aei manda aanduwa maey rassawal gane apita kiyanna kiyala. Ehe thiyena prashna hinda apey kattiyata thuwala wenane (I wonder why the government is offering these jobs when there are problems and our people can get injured),” noted Serapina.
“Mehe janathawa jeevana viyada nisa godak amaru thathvayawak inney. Harima asarana-wela, mokada mehe rassawal nethi nisa (People are desperate as the cost of living in Sri Lanka has shot up and there are no jobs here,” added Mabel Rasthiyadu.
Indeed the economic crisis in Sri Lanka two years ago, coming on top of the COVID-19 pandemic has savaged Sri Lanka’s economy. Hundreds of people including doctors, nurses, caregivers and IT professionals are among the categories of persons who have left the shores of Sri Lanka.
Long queues formed outside the passport office, two years with youngsters preparing their passports for the first given-opportunity to go abroad. The queues still continue and the passport office is still swamped with those seeking new passports or to extend current ones.
Worker remittances are a critical element in Sri Lanka’s economy and the contribution by migrant workers vis-à-vis foreign remittances is the largest foreign exchange component to the country followed by garments’ exports and tourism.
In January to June 2024, worker remittances rose by 11.4 per cent to US$3,144 million ($3.1 billion) compared to $2.8 billion in the same period last year. One economic analyst had an interesting comment asking why there was a need to seek an IMF facility of $2.9 billion to buffer foreign reserves when migrant worker remittances are around $7 billion annually. A valid argument, however, seeking IMF intervention not only eases pressure on forex reserves but gives a signal to the outside world of foreign exchange stability and a ‘ comforting’ message particularly to potential foreign investors.
Another upcoming interesting development would be how political parties canvass support among Sri Lanka’s migrant worker population ahead of the presidential and parliamentary polls. This is a vital voting segment particularly the families of migrant workers and in the past all kinds of freebies and handouts have been offered to woo voters in this segment of the population. NPP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake has been visiting countries in the West drumming up support of Sri Lankan residents for particularly the reasons stated above. Interestingly these visits have not been to West Asia where the largest segment of Sri Lankan workers is located.
During the economic crisis, many young women – enticed by Sri Lankan employment agents – obtained visit visas and went to the UAE in search of jobs. Many have been stranded while others have been forced in jobs with long working hours and other difficulties.
Faced with this situation, the authorities some months ago were reportedly planning to ban workers going abroad as unskilled domestic workers and instead promote only skilled migration. This was through proper training and certification as a skilled housemaid, commanding a higher salary encountering less problems in the workplace like harassment, physical abuse and delayed wages.
It is an ill-advised proposal and needs proper and further examination as it infringes on an individual’s right to travel abroad and seek a job. Women are desperately going to West Asia to keep the home fires burning due to lack of jobs at home and this right should not be denied.
The plan to upskill workers should run concurrently to workers going abroad as domestic workers who need to be motivated (not forced) to get training rather than stopping entirely the migration of housemaids.
Well ‘tis time to get that second mug of tea from Kussi Amma Sera and focus on the coming months when politicians resort to all kinds of ‘stunts’ and ‘gundus’ targetting segments of the population including migrant workers, to seek their vote!
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