Defusing the ‘unemployment’ ticking bomb: A herculean task for the new political dispensation

The current economic crisis has hit below the belt and hunger and malnutrition is driving the youth to the brink  –Pic by Shehan Gunasekara  

This writer is not a card carrying member of any political party. This piece of writing is meant to address the ticking bomb that would explode very soon if the youth expectations are not treated properly. The economy is in great peril, the economic crisis has now been compounded by the ensuing political crisis. The Government revenue has drastically reduced. The economy cannot be sustained by the way it is currently managed. 

No investor would come to Sri Lanka as international media has provided the correct picture in Sri Lanka. Even retaining the existing investors would be an uphill task if the deteriorating situation is not arrested. We really must have a new political dispensation. The youth participation and frustration as demonstrated by the youth especially at the universities speaks volumes. They felt that they would be in trouble if the economy was nosedived and when they saw that no program was in sight, they came in large numbers and joined the mainstream political campaigns.

To enlist the support of the youth, transparency must be ensured. The success of the program as described below would require nothing but complete transparency. Perhaps a system must be devised so that human intervention could be avoided so that corrupt efforts could be thwarted as youth would check their status online. They would demand transparency. The equal distribution of employment opportunities would be the driving force behind this effort. 

Even foreign employment opportunities must be pursued by the new dispensation and all information must be made available for public information purposes through the portal. It must update the system as unemployed youth log into the system. There has to be a political discussion with the State of Qatar and the Republic of Korea, where the Government of Qatar has given a massive contract to build 100 – One hundred – LNG carriers to South Korean shipyards. Sri Lankan labour force can be specially equipped to capture this market. An immediate effort must be made and lobby the Government of South Korea as to the opportunities for Sri Lankans. The Government of Qatar too must be lobbied directly by the new political dispensation.  

National Economic Development and Reconstruction Bill

 I would like to propose a single national portal for all employees both private and state sector which should provide the age, retirement age, time left for retirement, current employment, resignations and new recruitments. The system must be 100% transparent. All advertisements for new vacancies must be through this portal with portal reference. The companies and organisations are free to advertise but the advertisement must refer to the portal advertisement reference. This should include even foreign employment and returnees from the Middle East, can also register on the portal. 

At any given time the Government or private sector can check the skills available. The skills that can be tapped with additional training must also be provided in the portal. The Government should come up with a scheme to underwrite such training or 80% of the cost. If it is done at a Government institution the full cost. Foreign governments including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Korea and USA can be given access to the database if they require and manpower from Sri Lanka they can contact individuals either directly or through the approved employment agencies. 

Personal details should not be made available foreign countries unless permission is sought from the individual through the portal. Basic information such as the age, skills details, educational qualifications, etc. only. In order to preserve privacy and security of the electronic transactions, only the contact email/phone number should be made available through the portal. An option can be made for the person to leave his/her personal details for public access at his own risk. Terms and conditions can also be made available for users to accept or decline as is the case of accessing Yahoo, Gmail, etc.

This system will work independently of human intervention. If human intervention is required the system must provide as to what changes have been made and log in information should be sent to the members email account. The private communications agencies should also be given access for those who do not have smartphones or the skill required to use the portal. For an acceptable fee the private communication agencies should also be given a certificate of approval to access the portal. They can earn a fee from the public.

All newspapers must advertise in the newspaper only after registering with the portal and portal reference should be given in the newspapers. The newspapers must be given an assurance that they would not lose advertising revenue and they are obligated by law to provide the portal registration. 

Those who graduate from schools after A/L and universities will be automatically updated on the system. This system should be driven by the ID Card Number. It can also capture expected graduation year and whether the person is in Sri Lanka or studying overseas and the subjects covered in the university, academy or institution. The portal can provide the number unemployed at any given time and it can give statistics such as number unemployed, age groups, number of graduates in these categories whether skilled or unskilled. The people who have retired after attaining the age 55 and unemployed or employed must also be incorporated into the system. A user guide can also be provided. 

Their skills and willingness to be re-employed in what categories can be gleaned from the portal even pensioners with skills the nation demands could be on the system voluntarily. This must be a nationwide driven portal with no intervention by influential people; the system itself must pick and choose if the criterion is entered logically. This would give a much needed expectation for our youth. I felt very disheartened to see the public protest organised by the university students in Peradeniya and it proved the abysmal depth of the unemployment issue. They must be given hope that their future potential is captured and kept in a database. 

Unrealised EPF contribution

 The EPF act must be amended to provide some financial backing for our youth from the ‘unrealised EPF fund’. This must be made available to anyone above the age of 18 so that some sort of a financial stipend could be given to the youth. The current economic crisis has hit below the belt and hunger and malnutrition is driving the youth to the brink. Those who are registered on the portal and if they are unemployed they should be given a sort of a dole until such time they get an employment opportunity. 

This effort must be an NIC driven effort with total fool proof mechanism. There has to be a radical program to implement this scheme through universities and other vocational training centres. I would urge the university administration, university student groups and political parties to take cognisance of this program and build on it so that new ideas could be considered.

 

(The writer is a frequent opinion columnist and a political commentator and holds an LLM in Commercial Law.)