Guidelines for labour sections of Sri Lanka Missions in Labour receiving countries

By Shabiya Ali Ahalam

Minister of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare Dilan Perera launched the ‘Operational Manual for labour Sections of Sri Lankan Diplomatic Missions in Labour Receiving Countries’ at the Lakshman Kadhiragama Institute of international Relations and Strategic Studies in the 4th January 2013.

The publication of the manual acknowledges the governments efforts on strengthen grievance handling mechanisms by Sri Lankan Diplomatic Missions in countries where Sri Lankan workers migrate for the purpose of employment. The operational manual was put together by a subcommittee which consisted of representatives from the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Labour and Labour Relations, Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare, and the Sri Lankan Bureau Foreign Employment.

The operational manual is to be utilised as a handbook for currently working welfare officers while it is also expected to be used in training modules for the labour welfare personnel. Padmini Ratnayake, Sub committee member for Developing Operational Manual stated, “Moving forward, mere preparation of the manual is not enough but it is highly important to implement and effectively use the operational manual to take corrective measures in the present situation of migrant worker issues”.

The Secretary of Foreign Employment and Promotion has also prepared a particular training module for the prospective welfare officers and the manual is to be showcased on such instances. Rathnayake stressed on steps to be taken on effective implementation of the manual which includes; raising awareness in Sri Lanka on the launch of such a manual, introducing the adoption of user friendly mechanisms for dissemination of information, raising awareness amongst migrant workers on mechanisms adopted by missions of home countries on grievance and dispute handling and spreading knowledge on gaining access to services of the host country missions and its standard procedure. Awareness on certain country specific systems such as hotlines and reaching out to assistance centers is listed on the agenda for implementation. Further, capacity building of welfare officers on grievance handling and counseling is to take shape to efficiently address and improve prevailing situations on migrant worker issues.

Implemented and coordinated by the International Labour Organisation, ILO, Country Director ILO for Sri Lanka and Maldives Donglin Li stated that it is imperative to protect migrant worker freedom. International migration emerging as a pronounced issue in the global agenda over the past decade, Donglin Li extended a hand to the Government saying, “ILO will continue to support the Sri Lankan Government and necessary partners in their campaigns on protecting the rights, freedom, security and dignity of migrant workers leaving the borders of Sri Lanka”.

The migration project being launched in Sri Lanka in 2010 with the purpose of improving the protection of labour migration and their families, funding partner of the project the Swiss Development Cooperation, Country Director Jean-Michel Jordan expressed as a representative of donor agency and on behalf of the cooperation, appreciation to the Sri Lankan Government on launching the guideline for labour sections of labour diplomatic missions in labour receiving countries. “The launch of the guideline resembles a significant step toward growth, and with this initiative SDC collaboration with the Sri Lankan authorities have gratified in this perspective,” he stated.

He further acknowledged the SDC project involvement being able to support grassroot level civil society organisations focusing on empowerment and services to migrant workers.

To act as a guiding hand for labour extensions of Sri Lankan Embassies in labour receiving countries, the operational manual for labour sections is launched for the benefit of migrant workers and comprises of methods and systems for managing complaints and grievances and expediting processes for protecting migrant workers. The effort was initiated on a project of the Swiss Development Cooperation, SDC, titled “Promoting decent work through good governance, protection and empowerment of migrant workers, ensuring effective implementation of Sri Lanka National Labour Migration Policy, and the manual is the execution of one of the implementation points of the Sri Lankan National Labour Migration Policy.

Two studies conducted by the International Labour Organisation, ILO; ‘To review the present operational procedures and processes of labour sections of Sri Lankan diplomatic missions’ and ‘Strengthening Grievance and Complaints Handling Mechanisms to address migrant worker grievances in Sri Lanka’, called the necessity of standardisation of guidelines to improve the current context for providing better services for migrant workers of Sri Lanka.

A regional consultative meeting, having representatives of different agencies including relevant ministries of the Sri Lankan Government, held in Amman, Jordan earlier last year gathered collective recommendations for the manual and has been taken into account and incorporated to the final document.

The objective for formulating guidelines for labour sections was to address a number of matters which include; protecting migrant workers, to institutionalise and standardise operations relating to migrant workers as currently handling mechanisms of one country differs from another, to frame a set of procedures and guidelines in handling migrant worker issues while protecting and promoting his/her rights and welfare, to streamline activity of labour sections increasing transparency and most importantly to limit aggregation of ad-hock policies and personal involvement of officials.

The comprehensive manual covers the areas of protection of migrant workers, promotion of safe migration and safe employment while categories listed include handling grievances and complaints of migrant workers and defining type and nature of migrant worker such as runaway domestic worker, non domestic worker, domestic workers in service and the blacklisting of error recruitment agencies, employers and sponsors.

Specified are also repatriation of workers, registration of recruitment parties, renewal of registrations and regulations of individual job contract. The manual further provides insights on general administration of the labour division, discipline and code of conduct of labour welfare officials, promotion of man power in Sri Lanka and ways of conducting welfare programmes for migrant workers in the host country.

User friendly and catering to the trilingual audience, the operational manual spells out the line of authority giving step by step guidance. Forms for specific purposes have been developed in all three languages whereas relevant acts and legislative statements and clauses have been incorporated in the manual for easy reference for welfare officers.

The formulated manual is to be shared with other countries, having larger number of migrant workers flooding out for employment, as an example to follow and implement their own procedure addressing the pressing issues of migrant worker situations. The UN general assembly this year is also expected to have a dialog on prevailing migrant worker problems and formulate effective ways to address situations.