President directs Foreign Employment Ministry:

Take effective measures to end recruitment of house maids abroad

Rohan MATHES

President Mahinda Rajapaksa directed the Foreign Employment Ministry to take effective steps in ending the recruitment and employment of Sri Lankan women as house maids abroad, before the end of this year.

The President gave this directive when he met the Ministry Secretaries at the regular monthly meeting arranged on a decision of the President, to discuss on their efficiency and progress, beginning at Temple Trees last Tuesday.

He said that the time had come where Sri Lankan women should be employed in vocations which needed professional skills and training such as nursing and in the sphere of ‘patient care’, which yielded higher remunerations, instead of vocations in which the Sri Lankan women had to serve as subservient servants to their alien masters.

President Rajapaksa directed the officials to restrict the services of Sri Lankans representing the Government and serving in the foreign service abroad, to three years, and replace them in time, by appointing new officers.

The President also directed the Ministry Secretaries to work in close liasion and co-operation with the related trade unions, with a view to enhancing efficiency and productivity in the public service.

He urged all Ministry Secretaries to exercise the optimum responsibility in their operations, with the employees of all levels.

President Rajapaksa pointed out that all institutional heads of the universities should work with full commitment and dedication to enhance the standards of their universities and the degrees confered by them.

The President also instructed the Agriculture Ministry officials to take necessary measures in collecting the paddy required for the next ‘Kanna’ season, from now onwards.