Minimum age set for foreign jobs

Suraj A. Bandara

Newly appointed Foreign Employment and Welfare Minister Dilan Perera said a minimum age for foreign employment would be 21 hereafter and underage migrant workers will not be sent for overseas jobs.

This age limit was applied for those seeking foreign employment to prevent harassments and secure their employments, he said. He said it was the lack of such laws that have resulted in situations like Rizana Nafeek facing execution in Saudi Arabia. He added that measures would be taken to avoid such incidents.

The Minister addressing parliament said a program to provide a training to those to be employed in foreign jobs would be launched by the Ministry along with the Youth Affairs and Vocational training Ministry soon.

It is timely to provide them with equity training while ensuring their safety in overseas.

Productivity of the life insurance of those employed abroad is also important in respect of overall protection of migrant workers, he added.