Sri Lanka lost 10,000 foreign jobs due to corruption, poor handling: SLBFE Chairman
– Sri Lanka lost a significant number of foreign employment opportunities due to corrupt practices and poor handling of overseas job opportunities during the previous government, Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) Chairman Kosala Wickramasinghe said.
He said Sri Lanka had received 12,000 agricultural employment opportunities internationally during the previous government but managed to send only around 2,000 workers for those jobs, resulting in the loss of the remaining 10,000 opportunities.Wickramasinghe said various fraudulent and corrupt practices relating to foreign employment had affected Sri Lanka’s ability to make proper use of international employment opportunities.He said the SLBFE was continuously working to prevent such practices and was taking legal action against corruption involving employment agencies as well as corrupt practices involving individuals connected to such agencies.
He said that the Bureau’s responsibility was not merely to send Sri Lankans abroad for employment but also to regulate the foreign employment process and promote and develop welfare activities for migrant workers.
Wickramasinghe made these remarks while addressing a group of Sri Lankans preparing to leave for employment in Israel at the Bureau on September 21.He said various ideas and perceptions had developed in Sri Lankan society regarding foreign employment, while Israel had currently become a highly sought-after destination among Sri Lankan workers due to the demand in the Israeli labour market and comparatively high salaries.He also rejected the claim that the number of employment opportunities received from the Israeli Government had decreased because such jobs were being channeled through private employment agencies.He described that claim as completely incorrect and misleading, saying the Bureau itself could not send the same number of workers overseas if private employment agencies did not contribute to the process.According to Wickramasinghe, around 300,000 Sri Lankans leave the country annually for foreign employment through legal channels.With Government intervention, around 5,000 Sri Lankans leave for employment in Israel, another 5,000 for South Korea and around 1,000 for Japan annually.He said the total number of Sri Lankans who had gone abroad for employment was around 125,000, of whom only about 11,000 had been sent through Government intervention, while the remaining 114,000 had secured employment through registered employment agencies and self-directed arrangements.Wickramasinghe said legally sent remittances from migrant workers were a major factor in strengthening the country’s economy and that the Government would make every effort to develop Sri Lanka’s foreign labour force for the country’s future.
He said the public should clearly understand that the main responsibility of the SLBFE was to regulate the process of overseas employment and ensure the welfare of migrant workers rather than simply sending people abroad.The Chairman also said the Bureau had introduced several new welfare measures for migrant workers.He said housing loans ranging from Rs.500,000 to Rs.1 million had recently been made available to migrant workers registered with the Bureau who had returned to Sri Lanka after working overseas.
He added that steps were being taken to introduce a concessionary program through the relevant fund to assist with payment of interest on such loans.He said arrangements had also been made to provide insurance compensation to the families of migrant workers who die while overseas.
Wickramasinghe said the Government and the Bureau would continue working to strengthen welfare programmes and prevent fraudulent and corrupt practices in the foreign employment sector.
