New information hotline for hopeful migrant workers

• 1989 launched to provide information on work migration

• SLT to handle the call centre, says Minister
  
   

Ministry of Telecommunication, Foreign Employment and Sports Harin Fernando yesterday launched a new information hotline for potential migrant workers to access information and guidance on safe work migration.

The hotline 1989, introduced by the Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment set up in collaboration with the Embassy of Switzerland, aims to encourage the public to make informed decisions and follow correct procedures for foreign employment by seeking proper guidance through reliable sources.

Minister Fernando, speaking at the launch, said that the hotline would help in preventing individuals from getting caught to bogus employment agencies and fraud. However, he also noted that the SLFEB should be ready to deliver once the hotline was launched with good turnaround time for requests made.

To deal with the bottleneck in resources to handle the call centre, the Ministry plans to outsource the call centre management to Sri Lanka Telecom, Fernando told Daily FT.

“The SLT has trained employees to handle a call centre. That is what is needed. The SLFEB does not have that resource so we plan to outsource it,” he said.

The media campaign hopes to address the lack of access to reliable information for migrant workers and their families which has been identified as a major problem preventing individuals from making informed decisions when it comes to foreign employment.

In addition, the sources provide advice and facilities to help them build a secure and successful future in the country of their choice, such as information on vocational skills as the improvement of skills and qualifications will improve job prospects, income earning potential, and working conditions, and long-term investment plans.

Approximately two million Sri Lankans are currently working overseas, representing nearly 10% of the total population of the country. The majority of migrant workers are low-skilled construction and domestic workers working in the Gulf States, who are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. 

Foreign remittances, primarily from migrant workers, also continue to be the largest source of foreign exchange earnings for Sri Lanka, contributing 8.5% of the country’s GDP.