More skilled workers for foreign jobs

Rasika Somarathna

The time is ripe to take stock of Sri Lanka's Foreign Employment Policy considering the social impact created by sending a large number of unskilled female domestic workers abroad, Healthcare and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva said.

Female domestic workers constitute two thirds of the total migrant worker population, where out of 1.5 million one million have gone as housemaids.

Over the years this migrant worker population has contributed immensely to economic growth.

The Minister speaking at a workshop yesterday organized by the Ministry of Foreign Employment on a joint campaign by the two Ministries to educate migrant workers regarding the scourge of HIV\AIDS, emphasised the need to change the trend with the focus being centred on sending more skilled workers than unskilled domestic workers.

He stressed that the time had come to make a proper assessment considering its impact on the Sri Lankan social scene and pointed out that countries like India had taken steps to ban the practice.

The Minister noted that sending skilled workers for higher perks was more productive and added that the relevant sectors should concentrate on getting more opportunities for skilled workers with better perks.

Over the years various theories have surfaced regarding sending housemaids abroad specially to the Middle-East, considering its social effects, in a tight knit family oriented country like Sri Lanka.

Minister of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare Keheliya Rambukwella said his Ministry had already taken a number of steps to address the issue by getting more lucrative opportunities to Sri Lankans while also looking into matters pertaining to the grievances of female domestic workers and their families.