SLBFE registers 110 foreign job agents

by Ananda AGALAKADA

Up to 110 foreign employment agencies have registered with the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) so far this year, and their functions will be closely monitored by the Bureau, the SLBFE said in a news release.

A spokesman of the SLBFE said that authorities have taken a stern decision to cancel the licences of 13 agencies which were found to be involved in illegal practices. Steps are also being taken to appoint qualified candidates as sub-agents of the SLBFE and streamline the recruitment process.

This has become vital as earnings from overseas employment makes a large contribution to development activities of Sri Lanka. The spokesman said Minister of Foreign Employment Affairs Dilan Perera had earlier given instructions to the SLBFE to set up a special unit to crack down on pseudo job agencies.

Accordingly, the special unit has nabbed several agents who had engaged in corrupt practices including overcharging of agents’ fees and employing migrant workers in places where they have to work unacceptably long hours. Forty-six such employment agents were produced before Courts within the last few months, according to the communique.