Sri Lanka to send fewer housemaids to UAE

Tuesday, 17 May 2011 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The number of Sri Lankan housemaids working in the UAE and other Gulf Countries will gradually decrease as the country aims at focus more on exporting skilled labour force.

Even as they are unofficially discouraging it citizens to take up housemaid jobs abroad, the Sri Lanka authorities are currently chalking out plans to implement this policy officially, reported The Gulf Today.

According to a top government representative visiting the Emirates, the government is exploring the skilled labour market as it aims to organise the labour force and train its citizens in different skills.

Dilan Perera, Minister for Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare of Sri Lanka, said that the authorities are unofficially discouraging the citizens to take up housemaid jobs abroad, as the country gradually trains the people for more skilled and dignified professional opportunities.

“The title and job description of the domestic workers also have to be upgraded from ‘housemaid’ to ‘housekeeper’ in accordance with training them scientifically. There’s also a long-term term plan for demanding compulsory minimum wage system for the migrant Lankan workforce abroad,” the minister indicated.

“An innovative mechanism is currently being developed in Sri Lanka to implement job-specific, country-specific and company-specific training programmes for the citizens, who seek foreign opportunities,” he said, speaking on the sidelines of Sri Lanka Employment Promotion Seminar staged in Dubai on Sunday.

(Emirates 247.com)