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| Tuesday, 23 March 2004 |
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Women go for more prestigious jobs: Increasing trend in Lankan male workers to the Gulf by Shirajiv Sirimane The number of Sri Lankan male workers in the Gulf is increasing while females are going in for more prestigious employment such as nursing and to the garments industry, said the Managing Director Trico Maritime, Middle East Gamini Kannagara. Sri Lanka is the fourth largest human resource supplier to the Middle East after India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Sri Lankan housemaids have been one of the first to find employment in the Gulf and they were paid around 100 US dollars. However with more labour regulations and better education, the wages for Sri Lankans have now increased to around US $ 160 per month. The main advantage the other South Asian countries have over Sri Lanka is language and the religious similarity. "They can communicate in Arabic," he said. However with the increased demand for garments and more factories opening in the Middle East the Sri Lankan female workers have found employment in this industry. Sri Lankan housemaids have reduced by around 50 percent. "Their wages are higher and they have better working conditions," he said. The demand for Sri Lankan workers in the Gulf male and female, especially for the hotel trade is on the increase. In addition new opportunities have come up in the banking and IT sector. The foreign employment revenue from the Gulf to Sri Lanka is around US one billion and it is one of the highest foreign exchange earners for the country. The local expatriate population in UAE consists of around 60 percent females, 30 percent males and the rest are the families. "This too is a new trend," he said. He said that most of the Sri Lankan workers are from the North Western, Eastern and the Southern Province and their minimum contract is for around two years. He said that the main mode of transport of their goods is the sea and Trico had been set up in 1976 mainly to cater to this market. "We have handled cargo for over three million people so far. Today we are not only handling Sri Lankan cargo but operate to 19 countries including Europe. We have a staff strength of over 1,000 and our service carries a free insurance cover," he said. Each worker is given a duty free allowance of US $ 1500 and this is hardly ever used. |
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