Italian and Israeli jobs for Sri Lankans soon - Minister Dilan Perera

Extracts of an exclusive interview conducted with Foreign Employment and Welfare Minister Dilan Perera. He talks about social welfare, migrant workers and new ventures of the Foreign Employment Bureau

Nadira GUNATILLEKE

Q: What do you have to say about the Darusman Report?

A: The birth of the Darusman Report is illegitimate. It has no mother or father. It has fallen from the sky. No legal base for it at all. Its origin has no legality. Sri Lanka is an active, vibrant live member of the UN. Sri Lanka always understands and respects the UN system. The Secretary General is an elected member and therefore he has to obtain the mandate of another UN arm to appoint a panel. Usually a report drafted to advice someone is not get published in the media. Wide publicity was given to the Darusman Report.

That is why Sri Lanka is now forced to respond to this illegitimate illegal public document. Facts in this one sided report are fabricated and are utter lies and nonsense based on rumours and hearsays. We met 23 foreign ministers and representatives from foreign countries during the 16th Non Aligned Foreign Ministers’ Conference held in Bali and explained Sri Lanka’s stand.

When Osama bin Laden was killed, Americans celebrated jubilantly. Sri Lankans had the same experience and feeling when the LTTE Leader was killed. That is why they celebrated it. Sri Lankans had the same right to celebrate it. Osama bin Laden was killed in a foreign land and he was unarmed.

Prabhakaran was killed in Sri Lanka and he was well armed. Now Sri Lanka has been building harmony among communities. This racial report creates divisions in Sri Lankan community.

Q: Why did the government try to bring a pension scheme for the private sector?

A: The government proposed a pension scheme for the private sector because it was a long-standing demand of the private sector workers. The private sector workers had been asking for it for a long time. President Mahinda Rajapaksa delivers more and talks less.

He brought it keeping a promise made to the private sector workers by him. There were areas that need to be discussed.

There was a constructive dialogue going on with the Finance Ministry Secretary in connection with the changes that should be done regarding the private sector pension scheme.

The differences had been ironed out. At that moment the JVP launched its usual plan.

As usual the JVP started the protest from the FTZ in order to get someone killed. The Police assisted them in achieving their evil target. IGP took a historical decision to step down from his position.

From the beginning the JVP got a person killed and then sold his body and blood stained clothes in order to gain political advantage. Selling dead bodies to grab power is the traditional and popular method used by the JVP.

The JVP has been practicing this method from the beginning and undergraduates and many others were became their victims in the past.

The JVP tries to win people by killing a person and selling his body and blood stained clothes because they have already been totally rejected by the people.

They try the same at international level using Sri Lankan migrant workers but failed to do so.

One example is their failed mission took place at a factory in Jordan recently where they tried to use Sri Lankan workers. The JVP has a plan to attack economic nerve centres of Sri Lanka.

The JVP lost power because they did nothing when they had almost 40 seats in Parliament and some Cabinet Ministries. People rejected them.

The JVP does not know the words `yes’ and `can’. They only know one word. That is `no’. That is why people rejected them.

Q: How are you going to address the social issues created by mothers being employed as housemaids in foreign countries?

A: Sri Lankan women are now being discouraged to go abroad as housemaids by the Foreign Employment and Welfare Ministry while promoting foreign employments for skilled, semi skilled and professionals. The minimum age limit for housemaids had been increased from 18 to 21 with the intention of discouraging them to seek foreign employments as housemaids and this age is to be increased up to 30 years soon to further discourage them. The maximum age limit to be brought down from 50 to 45. This will solve all related social problems arise when mothers go abroad as housemaids leaving their families here in Sri Lanka.

The Foreign Employment Bureau will soon go into partnerships with several foreign countries and companies using Article 25 of Foreign Employment Bureau Act No.21 of 1985 in order to obtain better foreign employment for Sri Lankans. Sri Lankans will get job specific training, company specific training and country specific training to get foreign jobs. Sri Lankan nurses and care givers will get employments in Israel and some other countries by mid next year. Discussions are now being held with the Health Ministry in connection with this. Soon Sri Lankans will be able to get employment in Italy legitimately. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in connection with this programme has already been finalized and it will be signed soon. In the past many fall into trouble and lose money and even lives while trying to go to Italy illegally in search of jobs.

Another new employment opportunity with higher salaries is available in Qatar and similar countries for Sri Lankans with least educational qualifications. It is ‘Window Cleaning’.

This job does not require higher educational qualifications. But it needs a proper training. Qatar and similar countries have a large number of high-rise buildings with huge glass windows. Well-trained workers are required to be employed as window cleaners to clean these windows. The companies pay higher salaries for them. Sri Lankans will be trained with the assistance of relevant foreign countries and companies in order to employ them as window cleaners.

Q: How about the Sri Lankan housemaids who became victims of murder and violence?

A: Now the Foreign Employment Bureau offers counselling for the families of female migrant workers. Social integration is another main programme implemented by the Bureau. Bank loans have been arranged with some banks at low interest. Hereafter Sri Lankan housemaids will not meet their employers at the airport. They will meet them in the Sri Lankan embassy in the specific country. This new system ensures the safety of Sri Lankan housemaids and Sri Lankan officials will know their whereabouts and where their employers take them. The number of Sri Lankan employees in safe houses and welfare camps in foreign countries has been brought down to 100 from 300. They will be brought back to Sri Lanka soon.

Q: What are the latest developments in the sector?

A: A new social security benefit scheme is to be introduced soon in order to make sure that Sri Lankan migrant workers get all required assistance when the agreements between them and their employers are being violated and cause various problems. At the moment insurance schemes do not cover the main requirement of our migrant workers.

That is various issues arise as a result of violation of agreements between employees and employers.

Nearly 600 schoolchildren of migrant workers from the Western Province received scholarships from President Mahinda Rajapaksa recently. This is a part of the government’s scholarship programme implemented for the benefit of children of migrant workers according to a concept of the President. The programme was launched by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in 1996 when he was holding the post of Labour Minister. In 1996 the scholarship was awarded to 157 students belonging to migrant workers. Annually 1,500 students receive this scholarship. In 2010 Rs.384, 185,000 were given to 1,579 students as scholarships under this programme.

Every child who gets through the Year Five scholarship examination receives Rs. 15,000 and a student who passes GCE O/L and qualifies for A/L receive Rs.20, 000. An undergraduate receives Rs.30, 000. All students belong to all migrant workers in Sri Lanka receive this scholarship. If one student gets all three scholarships he or she gets Rs.65, 000. The programme to be extended to cover students who undergo vocational training in other institutions. Arrangements will be made soon to get discounts for the children of migrant professionals to study in private universities in Sri Lanka. This will retain a significant amount of foreign exchange in Sri Lanka.

Road shows conducted in Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Dubai, Abudhabi and Saudi Arabia. Some foreign employment agencies operating from Sri Lanka were also participated in it. Over 25 representatives from job agencies attended the road show in each country. Arrangements have been made to grade foreign employment agencies. Hereafter migrant workers will be educated on their rights.