Helping migrant workers

Minister of Foreign Affairs Mangala Samaraweera last week reaffirmed Sri Lanka’s commitment to ensuring that migrant workers have safe and dignified employment abroad, promising stringent domestic measures to prevent migrant workers falling prey to human trafficking or human smuggling.

The Foreign Minister’s comments came days before a Sri Lankan housemaid, who was sentenced to death after being convicted of adultery in Saudi Arabia - the sentence was later reduced to a three-year jail sentence upon appeal - was due to return to the country following the completion of her jail term.

Her story, sadly, is far from uncommon, with a cursory Google search revealing numerous cases of housemaids and unskilled workers from Sri Lanka and other manpower-exporting Asian countries suffering terrible ordeals in the Middle East. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports that it has disbursed Rs. 181 million in compensation to 181 distressed persons and families in 2016 alone. 

Yet, as ever, migration plays a key role in the economic development of Sri Lanka. Foreign workers make up 24% of the labour force and remittances form 33% of the country’s foreign exchange and 8.3% of its GDP. Sri Lanka already has over two million migrant workers, mostly working in Middle Eastern countries, with 52% of them being women.

In light of these numbers it is heartening to see the Government attempt to get its act together in better protecting migrant workers. However, as they say, actions speak louder than words. Talk of introducing coherent policies, regulations and legislations to combat human trafficking is all well and good, but the contents of those policies need to fall in line with international norms. Bilateral agreements with destination countries spelling out how responsibilities are to be shared can be a significant means of providing minimum standards and rights for a country’s citizens. Origin countries can negotiate for greater rights, particularly for less-skilled workers, which conform to international standards, with compliance guaranteed by the agreements. Another effective means of intervention and protection by origin countries is to establish consular services with labour attachés and both male and female staff to whom migrant workers may come for assistance. This is particularly important in countries where a large number of their citizens work, such as the Middle East.

Apart from these measures Sri Lanka has also been evaluating the option of stopping manpower exports altogether. In June of this year, cabinet spokesperson Rajitha Senaratne confirmed that President Sirisena had appointed a committee to look into reducing the number of housemaids going abroad for employment. This however implies that more employment opportunities would need to be provided locally for women; an enduring a challenge as ever.  Women seeking employment in Sri Lanka encounter a lack of space in the formal sector. Despite high numbers of qualified women, especially at the university level where an estimated 60% of graduates are female, entrance to the formal workforce remains understated. Currently, about 35% of Sri Lanka’s workforce comprises women, with the largest contribution coming from the agricultural sector. Local employment opportunities for women are also stymied by weak regulations that do not provide flexible work hours and other perks such as paternity leave, which are standard in other countries. Social, legal and corporate attitudes need to change, and change fast, for women to have the space to make critical contributions to the country’s growth, along with their own wellbeing.