100,000 jobs up for grabs for Lankans in Romania

Labour and Foreign Employment Minister Manusha Nanayakkara this week met with Romanian Ambassador to Sri Lanka Dr. Victor Chiujdea to discuss new employment opportunities in Romania for Sri Lankans.

There was a lengthy exchange of views on the provision of employment opportunities to Sri Lankan workers in Romania and the Romanian Ambassador said that Romania had opened 100,000 foreign jobs earlier this year

The Ambassador said that the Romanian Government would not intervene in the provision of such employment opportunities and that private employment agencies would intervene.

He said Romania has opened up jobs in the construction, IT and tourism sectors.

The Minister requested the Romanian Ambassador to provide the necessary assistance to Sri Lanka to obtain more of those employment opportunities, especially in the field of education.

The two sides discussed the possibility of obtaining more employment opportunities for Sri Lanka in consultation with the Romanian Employment Agencies Association, which is intervening to provide Romanian employment.

The Minister and the Ambassador discussed in length on the fees charged for sending workers to Romanian jobs and the Minister assured that arrangements would be made to regulate those fees.

At the same time, the Minister assured that strict legal action would be taken against groups trafficking under the guise of sending workers to Romania for employment.

About 2500 Sri Lankan workers are currently employed in Romania and discussions are underway with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to appoint a permanent consul to deal with them, the Minister said.