SLBFE tightens regulation procedures

By Ananda KANNANGARA

The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) has found that owners of certain job agents whose labour recruitment licences were cancelled due to violation of employment regulations have applied for new registrations under the names of other persons.

"This is a complete violation of the foreign employment recruitment Act No. 21, and the SLBFE had the legal authority to take action against such agencies," SLBFE, Chairman Kingsley Ranawaka told the Sunday Observer.

He said the recruitment licences of ten foreign job agencies, located in various parts of the country were cancelled last year for violating Bureau regulations.

"We have deployed special teams of officers to investigate the complaints on recruitment process done by job agencies when complaints are received from job seekers," he said.

He said some job seekers had complained that large sums of money are being demanded by certain employment agencies by neglecting the reasonable charges, mentioned by the SLBFE.

The Chairman also said a record number of 252,000 Sri Lankans left for foreign employment last year and majority of them secured jobs in the Middle East countries.

"There is an increasing demand for foreign jobs due to various welfare programs introduced by the SLBFE, including special medical and death compensation package for migrant workers, setting up a separate lounge for migrant workers at the Banadaranaike Airport, giving vocational training courses for those leaving the country for jobs abroad and granting scholarships to children of migrant workers in addition to the annual school books distribution program.

Referring to the plight of several Lankan workers who are currently in foreign safe houses and in detention camps, Ranawaka said they would be brought back to Sri Lanka in batches within the next six months on a directive of Minister of Foreign Employment Promotion Keheliya Rambukwella.