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Saturday, 17 December 2011

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Migrant workers' well being

There is no dispute that the well being of our migrant workers should be attached topmost priority and we are glad that the government is going ahead with launching a national health policy for this category of workers. The contribution of these workers, materially and otherwise, is so substantial to countries that the international community has set apart December 18th as International Migration Day, in recognition of this important fact.

Although the massive economic contribution of our migrant workers has been somewhat recognized over the years by the state and other concerned quarters, until the present moment, their physical, emotional and spiritual needs went without being fully addressed. No doubt, many are the state agencies involved in looking after the interests of our migrant workers but the working out of a national health policy for these persons is a landmark in the provision of state welfare measures towards their general well being. It needs to be also recognized that in the person of Minister Dilan Perera, these workers have a care-giver who could be expected to be proactively involved in achieving some good for them.

Despite the phenomenal contribution of our migrant workers towards our foreign exchange reserves, we cannot help but feel that they have been 'taken for granted' all these years, although under the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration their condition is being closely monitored and their needs met to the extent possible. However, the factual position now is that the country cannot do without these workers, considering the bearing their earnings have on keeping the local economy going. We are duty-bound to ensure the constant well being of these workers and it is in the fitness of things that the maximum welfare measures are accorded to them.

However, there could be no let-up in qualitatively improving the condition of these workers who are in the main poor and are among the marginalized of our polity. A health insurance scheme for these persons, for instance, comes as a stitch in time because it is abundantly clear that they are up against a multitude of health and other hazards in their places of work abroad, whether the latter be private residences or otherwise. Besides, they are in need of counseling services and other means of emotional well being because emotional deprivation too could be part of their lot. We are glad that the government is taking full cognizance of these needs and is initiating the necessary measures to alleviate these conditions.

Our position is that these workers should be fully empowered to meet the challenges of their countries of employment. The very scandalous and tragic happenings centering on some of our workers abroad, including instances of not only emotional and sexual abuse but also of murder, should draw the attention of every relevant quarter to the highly vulnerable position of these workers. It is the obligation of the state and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that our migrant workers are guarded against every conceivable danger and hazard.

Likewise, the lot of the families these workers leave behind should be lightened to the fullest. We would not be saying anything new by stating that some of these workers virtually leave their families to their own devices by going abroad in search of the proverbial pot of gold. While the country stands to gain in terms of economic well being through such labour migrations, the social consequences of these changes could be quite disquieting. One such grave consequence takes the form of family break-ups. Abandoned children are another tragic fall-out. Accordingly, every conceivable aspect of the lives of our migrant workers needs to be looked into. Besides, general welfare measures, they and their families are badly in need of psych-social support and this and many other requirements should be met systematically to make the lives of these workers worth living.

How Lankan migrant worker sustains the economy

December 18 is designated International Migrant’s Day. The Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare and the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment are making arrangements to commemorate the International Migrant’s Day on December 18, 2011 on an elaborate scale covering the whole country.

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Pollution politics and colonialism

The Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa which concluded on December 11 managed to work out a compromise which, seemingly, did not satisfy any of the participants. The 17th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 17), to give the confab its official name,

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Litmus test of the independence of judiciary mooted by the BASL

We compliment the Bar Association of Sri Lanka - a premier professional organization of lawyers, in the country in which every lawyer is statutorily gains entry to this honorable and noble profession at the admission as an Attorney at Law. Constitutionally and practically,

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The new bloom for artistic presentation

From the time archaeological explorations revealed the treasures that lay hidden at Polonnaruwa, the Nelum Pokuna or Lotus Pond has been among the many important attractions that showed the skills and artistry of the ancient builders. Not far from the famous Buddhist temples and Hindu shrines that Polonnaruwa is well known for,

Full Story

 

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