Recent Trends and Policies on Labour Migration in Sri Lanka

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Recent Trends andPolicies on Labour

Migration in SriLan aPRESENTED BY

W.J.L.U. WIJAYAWEERA.

SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND LABOUR RELATIONS .

SRI LANKA.

The views expressed in this presentation are the views of the author and do not

necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank Institute

ADBI), the Asian Development Bank ADB), its Board of Directors, or the governments

they represent ADBI does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in thishey represent. ADBI does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this

paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequences of their use. Terminology

used may not necessarily be consistent with ADB official terms.


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Present situation of Labour Migration in Sri Lanka.

Legislative and policy framework ofLabour Migration in Sri Lanka.

Migration.

National Labour Migration Policy and otherrelated olicies.

Recent Trends in Labour Migration.

Recent policies in Labour Migration.

Pre- departure Training/orientation training systemfor MW.

Challenges ahead and way forward.


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migration in Sri Lanka

Total stock of Sri Lankan migrant workers arearound 1.9 million.

nnua ou ow n was , .

As a percentage of total labour force in Sri Lanka

the overseas employment is about 22%.

It reduced the unemployment rate in the countryby 5.4 percent in 2012.

was US $ 6.1 billion and has become a stablesource of foreign currency in flow to the country.


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The middle east ,particularly KSA, UAE, Kuwait,Jordan and Qatar are the major destinations for

percent of labour outflow from Sri lanka.

Low-skilled workers and female domestic workers

migrant workers. (65 percent)


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Administrative Structure inManaging Labour Migration in

Until 2007 the Ministry of Labour was the main policy making

A dedicated ministry was established in 2007 as Ministry of

Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare to govern the.

Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment ( SLBFE ) which wasestablished under the Parliament Act no 21 of 1985 is the

regu a ory au or y or ore gn emp oymen n us ry un er epurview of the Ministry of Foreign employment promotion andwelfare.


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Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Agency PVT Ltd(SLFEA) is the State recruitment Agency comingunder the Ministry.

The Association of Licensed Forei n Em lo mentAgencies (ALFEA ) which was established underthe provisions of the SLBFE Act which has themembership of 60 % of the licensed recruitmentagencies ensures the ethical recruitmentpractices in the foreign employment industry bydisciplinary control of their members.

Sri Lankan Diplomatic Missions in 16 Destinationsprovide services to migrant workers throughLabour welfare officials.


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Policy of Sri Lanka

This policy broadly addresses three themes. Governance of migration

Protection and empowerment of migrant workersand their families

.

The national labour migration policy is committedto promoting opportunities for men and women

conditions of freedom, equity, security andhuman dignity.


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Other Policies Related toLabour Migration in Sri Lanka

National Policy for Decent work in Sri Lanka 2006.

National Policy on HIV/AIDS for World of Work.

a ona gra on ea o cy .

2012.


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Migration in Sri Lanka

Decline in female domestic worker migration (

from 72% in 1994 to 38 % in 2012 ) due togovernment policy to encourage skilled migrationns ea o ow s e an ema e omes cworkers.

Only 56 percent of the departures of the migrantworkers were channeled through the privateLicensed recruitment agencies and the remaining44 percent through direct contacts/sources. (An

ncreas ng ren o m gra on roug pr va echannels than before.)

More attention on the protection of rights of themigrant workers by introducing number of

policies and programmes.


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Strengthening of institutional capacities inmanaging labour migration effectively.

ay a en on o e vers ca on o es na onsinstead of high concentration in the Gulf

countries. More attention on enhancing skills of the migrant

workers to minimize their vulnerability.

Strict monitorin on activities of the Licensed

recruitment agents and introduced a Code ofEthical Conduct for recruitment agencies tominimize the mal- practices.


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Migration of Sri Lanka.

Ten year development Plan of the Sri LankanGovernment(2010-2016 )highlights Safe and

labour migration.

Policy responses can be categorized under three.

Governance of the migration process.

Protection and empowerment of migrant workers

and their families. Linking development and migration process.


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Recent Policies on

Migration Process

Prepared a new legislative framework to repeal theexisting legal instrument to give more authority tolabour migration management institutions.

Strengthened the role of Sri Lanka Bureau of ForeignEmployment in order to play a more effective role in

rotection of ri hts safet di nit and e uit ofmigrant workers.

Decentralized the activities of the SLBFE to 07 regional.

Established the National Advisory council of labourmigration, chaired by the Minister in charge of Labourm gra on w e par c pa on o a ey s a e o ersto develop a coherent institutional framework.


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Regularized the recruitment aspect andenhanced the professionalism by introducing theCode of Ethical Conduct for licensed recruitmentagents and grading and awarding schemebased on their high performances.

Introduced web based recruitment systemac a ng on- ne ransac ons o ma e

recruitment process more efficient.

Improved the existing pre-departure training for

ow-s e wor ers y n ro uc ng a onaVocational Qualification system (NVQ Levels)andassessment and certification. NVQ 3 levelcertificate made com ulsor for domestic femaleworkers since 2012.


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Implemented specific laws and activities toprevent human trafficking and smuggling by

Prevention of human trafficking and smuggling.

Strengthened the Labour Divisions of the SL

increasing the existing cadre of LWO andcapacity building of the LWO for effective on-site


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Recent Policies on Protectionand Empowerment of MW &

Increased govt. intervention on pre-departure stage byintroducing pre-departure training, awareness raising atgrassroo s eve , mp emen a on o age m or ema edomestic workers and financial assistance schemes

through government banks to cover cost of migration. Paid special attention on vulnerability of female domestic

workers and their children by requesting a familybackground report on each prospective worker from the

grassroo s eve governmen o cers o m n m ze enegative effects to their families.

Implemented National Migration Health Policy to monitorthe health aspect of departing and incoming migrant

workers and their family members with the help of thenational health care system.


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Introduced comprehensive grievance handlingmechanism for the benefit of migrant workers and

operating special information centre at the SLBFEhead office, implementing a web based

complaint handling system at the SLBFE and theDiplomatic missions, decentralizing the grievancehandling process to SLBFE regional and districtlevel offices and trained SLBFE staff on grievance

handling and counseling.


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Introduced the Manual of Procedure for mainactivities of the Labour Divisions of the Diplomatic

effectiveness of on-site services to MW.

Implemented contributory social security scheme

insurance coverage, low interested loans for MW,scholarship programmes for children of the MW.


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Implemented special programmes focused on re-integration of MW through promoting localemployment, recognizing of skills acquired, capacity

u ng, en repreneurs p ra n ng e c.

Established Rata Viruwo Organisations (heroes of

the country) at the local levels with the participation

their capacities, livelihood programmes in acooperative manner ,information sharing on existinggovernment support schemes etc.

Recruit nearly 1000 new graduates to the Ministry ofForeign Employment Promotion and Welfare asDevelopment officers to facilitate local level

.


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Implemented programmes for the benefit of thechildren of MW by assisting educational and

level and community level and enhancingaesthetic skills and life skills of them.


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Development

Made enabling environment for maximizingmigrant savings and widening the choices for MWto use institutional channels to remit money.

-participation of the State Banks)

Developed market promotion plans focusing ondiversification of destinations and skills incollaboration with the Sri Lanka DiplomaticMissions.

Planned to establish a National Institute of,

training and to develop linkages with regionaland international research bodies on labourmigration for sharing experiences and

.


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Initiated programmes to obtain contribution of

the Sri Lanka Diaspora for national development.Diaspora bonds, tax free concessions onnves men s, e c.

Entered Bi-lateral agreements and MOUs with

destination countries for better protection to theSri Lankan migrant workers and promotion ofemployment opportunities for Sri Lankan workers.

Promoted co-operation with the International

organizations working for betterment of the MWand their families such as ILO, IOM, UNWomen,ADB etc.


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-Orientation Training System.

As per the SLBFE Act, one of the main objective of the.

All the expenses incurred in training and orientation are

paid from the Workers Welfare Fund (WWF) In 1996 pre-departure training was made compulsory

for female domestic workers and training certificate isthe mandatory requirement for departure approval

and now this is compulsory for all departing MW. Introduced National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) for

several re-de arture trainin s eciall to the DomesticHouse keeping course in 2012.


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Conduct pre-departure training in 23 district and,

training centers and 01 center operated by atrade union approved by the SLBFE. All shouldfollow the same curricular through SLBFE trainers.

urr cu um eve opmen an pro uc ng o ra nersguides have prepared by the SLBFE following theinternational standards with the assistance of the

ILO and IOM. On the last 18th to coincide with then erna ona m gran s ay ra n ng gu es werelaunched for the use of the trainers. (countryspecific and different language guides)

disciplines languages, hotel sector, housekeeping, child care ,elderly care etc and securedNational Vocational Qualification certificates as

.


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Recruitment agencies are participating inconducting training for MW, at private sectortraining centers and also contributing to designand develop training curricular for MW incollaboration with the SLBFE.

Private sector training center on training ofcons ruc on sec or wor ers or ngapore ncollaboration with the Singapore ContractorsAssociation.

an ar za on an s cer ca on processadopted by the by the government incollaboration with the Tertiary and VocationalEducation Commission of Sri Lanka.


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ypes o re- epar ure


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Training course Target group Age limit Duration

Domestic housekeeping training for Middle Eastbound female workers

Domestic sector femaleworkers

21-45 15 days/135 hrs.

Domestic house keeping & care giving training Domestic sector 21-45 30/270for Cyprus bound female/male workers. female/male workers who

can speak English.

Domestic housekeeping and care giving trainingfor Singapore bound female workers.

Domestic sector femaleworkers who can speakEnglish.

21-45 25/225

workers.

female workers.

-

Care giving training for Israel bound experiencedhealth care workers.

Experienced workers wholeave for care giving sectorwork.

21-45 15/135

eracy ra n ng or prospec ve m gran wor ers. rospec ve m gran wor erswho cannot read and writetheir mother tongue.

-

Special English literacy training for Cyprus bound

workers

Prospective migrant workers

who cannot read, write andwrite English.

21-45 18/180

Special training programme for overseas jobseekers other than domestic house keeping.

New entrants both femaleand male to overseas work inthe Middle East, Malaysiaand Maldives

21-45 15/45

sector female workers Middle East and Cyprusbound workers.

Korean language training for job seekers underthe EPS s stem

who can speak Arabic(Middle East )And Greek For CyprusJob seekers under the SouthKorea EPS system.South Korea bound workers.

- .

18-

Pre-departure training for South Korea boundworkers under the EPS system.

18


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Way Forward

Like most of the countries of origin in Asian regionSri Lanka has to face a dilemma between

Sri Lankan workers overseas.

Inadequacy of shared responsibility between

protection of MW.

Gaps in regional cooperation among theoun r es o r g n n pro ec on o an o er

migration related issues.


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More attention needed on migration anddevelopment issues, e.g. remittances,

Need of reliable and accurate data on MW in

destinations and return migrants. Promotion of Bi-Lateral/MOU on labour migration

and follow up mechanisms on MOUs betweenCountries of Origin and destinations.


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Thank You

Recent Trends and Policies on Labour Migration in Sri Lanka

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