Wimal’s worthy cause?

SRI LANKA’S migrants seem to have found an unlikely hero. Construction and Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa after meeting a group of his fellow citizens in Doha over the New Year holidays has pledged to take up their issues with President Mahinda Rajapaksa and push for stronger regulation of manpower agencies.

Outside of perhaps putting Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare Minister Dilan Perera’s nose out of joint, it also shows that Government members themselves have to admit that the measures given to protect migrant workers are inadequate.

As economic conditions worsen in Sri Lanka, more and more people are seeking greener pastures overseas. Even after the tragic death of Rizana Nafeek the numbers have failed to bottom out, with Qatar becoming the largest employment provider to Sri Lankan nationals in recent years. The Middle East country received 56,900 skilled and semi-skilled workers last year; this means a 7.3% increase in 2012. A total of 158 migrant workers died while overseas during the same period.  

Workers continue to complain that they are short-changed by manpower agencies that advertise high salaries but fail to provide them. Many also live in terrible conditions, with some people forced to live crammed into rooms with 10 others. Even though the Government insists that problems will reduce if the quota of women is lessened, the challenges for male workers cannot be ignored.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has consistently called for responsible action by countries of origin to reduce abusive practices and help migrant workers make better choices. Beyond educating migrant workers about unethical and exploitive practices, origin countries should enact legislation and regulations and enforce them to prevent such abuses from taking place and sanction those who have engaged in them.

The ILO insists that where the rights of migrant workers have been violated, all persons involved in the chain of their recruitment and employment should be legally accountable, to prevent workers from being left without any remedy. When such persons cross national borders themselves in committing violations against migrant workers, origin countries must cooperate with transit and destination countries to put a stop to their conduct.

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.

Exploitation can also be reduced by providing access to regular migration and the formal labour market. Agreements can contain provisions on such things as how origin and destination countries will cooperatively manage pre-departure and return processes, transfer social security earnings or allow portability of pensions. They can also contain dispute settlement procedures and remedies for violation of rights. These agreements are most effective when they contain specific mechanisms and procedures for solving problems and grievances, such as monitoring missions or joint committees with representatives from the countries involved.

Another effective means of intervention and protection by origin countries is to establish consular services with labour attaches 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 for Sri Lanka. This is all the more important since this region is has the bulk of unskilled and female workers, which are the two most vulnerable groups.

A range of countries, including Philippines, Egypt, Mexico and Tunisia, are assisting migrant workers to protect their rights through better choices and stronger legislation. Even Weerawansa agrees that guidelines from the Philippines are important. Surely it is time for Sri Lanka to do the same.