Labour migration in Sri Lanka: A socio-economic dilemma

Sajith de Mel and Sasini Kulatunga

MIGRATION: Delving into the history of migration; it took the form of slavery, for which we presently employ a decent word ‘forced labour’. The world renounced motion picture ‘Roots’, dramatizes the shipping of slaves from their native and to European destinations for hard labour.

The practice of slavery in the United States began soon after Europeans first settled in what became the United States. From about 1619 until 1865, people of African descent were legally enslaved. Closer to 500,000 Africans were brought to North America during the slave trade.

Analogous to sinners been baptized in church subsequent to repentance, and them been ordained for priesthood, the same countries who were adept in the brutal slavery system, defused it and suffused enthusiastically the theology of colonization, which in-away was a newer definition of slavery.

The British colonial government brought a large number of South Indians to labour in the plantation sector in Sri Lanka in the 19th century which represented a poles-apart dimension of labour migration.

Seeing the collapse of the outmoded colonisation in the face of budding dogmas’ of human rights, the godfathers of colonisation saw ‘globalisation’, as the hottest replica for attracting cheap migrant labour from developing countries as ours, and today labour migration is considered as one of the foremost off-springs of globalisation.

Globalisation refers to increasing global connectivity, integration and interdependence in the economic, social, technological, cultural, political, and ecological spheres.

However, it is quite horrendous that the gospel of globalisation is been preached only to developing economies while the so called developed economies place tighter and stricter rules in closing up theirs.

Feminisation of migration

Feminisation of migration is one of the foremost trends that a reasonable observer would witness consequent to screening the data available.

It could be said that the globalisation phase has seen more jobs generated for women than for men and becomes blatant that the labour migration in Sri Lanka carries an element of feminisation.

The enhanced female partaking in the foreign employment market is in no doubt most convivial, and one might even construe this as a symbol of triumph by the part of the women pressure groups’ struggle for equal employment opportunities for women.

Approximately, 60 per cent of the emigrants are females while the average annual out-migration of females for foreign employment is around 126,119. It is rather attention-grabbing that a majority of females out-migrate as housemaids.

The female out-migration as housemaids in the year 2000 was 99,413, while in 2005; it stood at 125,054, representing a 25 per cent increase over five years. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates represent the major destinations of domestic workers in Sri Lanka.

With all due regards to the enhanced female participation in the foreign labour market, we should never forget that women migrants are one of the most vulnerable groups in all countries.

Countless stories of emigrant Sri Lankan women been sexually and physically abused by the hosting employer is never an extraordinary episode. It is quite bizarre as to the non recognition or non detection of the major causes where the explanations lie in the nitty-gritty of economics.

Most migrant women are from underprivileged milieus and a countless lack professional training as housemaids. On the other hand their English skills lie at a very lower level. Lack of English skills coupled with low levels of professional skills makes their labour flexibility and mobility inelastic to vulnerabilities.

As such even in midst’s of rape and abuse, these female workers has no option; rather to hang about with the assaulting employer. The authorities have to play a major role in devising a strategy to protect the female emigrants at work.

The authorities should play a leading role in regulating and ensuring the authenticity of the mushrooming foreign employment agencies which deceive many of the innocent emigrants leaving as housemaids thus creating an exaggerated rosy picture in their minds.

A basic premise of gender theories is that women’s disadvantaged position in the labour market is caused by, and is a reflection of, patriarchy and women’s subordinate position in society and the family.

One form of gender discrimination at work is occupational sex discrimination which explains the confinement and imprisonment of females into lower strata’s of employment. One should never assume that this phenomenon is exclusive to the domestic labour market.

Hence the data for the year 2005 explains that of the 136,245 total female out-migrants, only 197 were of the professional category (0.14%), while middle level represented 892 (0.65%) and the skilled category, 6757 (4.9%).

In other words 128,399 female out-migrants of the total 136,245 represented the housemaids and the unskilled categories (94%). In-a-way does it mean that the Arabian countries in demand for Sri Lankan housemaids for cheap salaries, sees Sri Lanka as a destination of slavery labour suppliers.

This is never to suggest that the government should intervene in the market mechanism and restrict the emigrants as housemaids. Initiations could be made to impart the emigrants as housemaids the skills needed through vocational training.

This would improve their skills and hence their wages. This will signal the Arabian countries that the female out-migrants from Sri Lanka as housemaids are no longer cheap slavery labour; instead professionally trained and highly skilled labour offering their services at international market rates.

Hence it is opportune that the politicians and the women pressure groups awaken from their elongated snooze and kick off programs for the unskilled emigrants thus in making Sri Lankan labour supply competitive in the foreign employment bazaar.

Brain-drain

One of the major threats faced by Sri Lanka with respect to labour out-migration is the ‘Brain drain’. An economist may tend to interpret the phenomena of labour out-migration from developing to developed countries as a matter of inequalities in growth rates of the latter economies which generates the need to swell.

In 2000, the out-migration of professionals from Sri Lanka was 935, while by 2005, this figure stood at 2678. For the middle managerial levels, the foreign employment placements were 3781 in year 2000, while by 2005 it stood at 8040.

The out-migration of skilled labour in year 2000, stood at 36475, while by 2005 it increased to 45,590. Further the intensity of the crisis of brain drain could be explained through the educational levels of the out-migrants.

In the year 2000, of the total 21820 out-migrants from Sri Lanka to United States, 15630 (71%) had undergone the tertiary education, while 5695 (26%) had undergone the secondary education.

Also of the total 64143 Sri Lankan immigrants to OECD countries in year 2000, 45947 (71%) had undergone tertiary education, while 16741 (26%) had undergone secondary education.

However, one should never assume that the foreign demand for Sri Lankan professionals and senior official managers has been fulfilled. In the year 2000, the excess foreign demand for local senior officials and managers were 146, while this figure for the year 2004 was 886.

The excess demand in 2003 for professionals stood at 3186, while in 2004, it was 5293. Brain drain is not without serious economic consequences. It reduces the intellectuals locally available for the development of the local economy.

On the one hand an educationalist may argue whether there had been adequate returns on investment on the free education provided to these intellectuals by the government.

One main reason for brain drain is the lack of recognition in terms of position, power and salaries in the local economy. Many top positions in the government and the private sector are filled through political influence or the old boys’ network.

In the face of these circumstances, the frustrated intellectuals try their luck abroad. As such on the one hand the local economy loses its best brains while on the other hand the local institutions are infiltrated by the uneducated and the inefficient whose main hold is political power.

Both these adversely affects the efficiency of the local institutions and thereby the economic growth. As such it is timely that policy decisions be activated to hire and reward the best in the industry in spite of political appointments.

Meagre remittances

Irrespective of the boost in the figures of emigrants, the remittances from abroad has not been that colossal. Data explains that in 1976, the emigrants were 500 in numbers while by 1998, it was 158300; almost a 317 times increase.

However, the worker remittances in 1976 were $ 469 Mn, while in 1998 it was only $936Mn, just about two times increase. As such the remittances per-head in 1976 was $ 33028, while in 1998 it was $ 5912; meaning that the growth in migration remittances is much slower as opposed to the rate of increase in the number of emigrants.

This explains that a major proportion of earnings are being consumed and saved abroad, and as such a lower impact on the local economy.

Brain drain coupled with lower foreign remittances is strong enough to cart the economy to the graveyard. It is quite commendable of the strategies such as tax exemptions, NRFC accounts, loans granted to returnees to start up businesses initiated by the consecutive governments to attract remittances from the emigrants.

However, the figures explain that these strategies have not been that persuasive. As such one may tend to argue that this is a possible sign by the part of the emigrants’ lack of enthusiasm to return to the island.

Such could be described as a combined effect of dull economic performance coupled with the escalating hostilities between the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE which has created an uncertainty in the socio-economic spheres.