The Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau (SLFEB) says there are no restrictions imposed on Sri Lankans working in Saudi Arabia.
During the first six months of this year, over 19,000 Sri Lankans have gone to Saudi Arabia for employment.
“ More Sri Lankans will go to Saudi Arabia for employment and there are no restrictions on Sri Lankans seeking jobs there”, SLFEB Additional General Manager L.K. Ruhunage said.
Commenting on the media reports that a recruitment Committee in Saudi Arabia has called upon its member offices in the Kingdom to sign no further contracts for the employment of Sri Lankan nationals said that it was a private arrangement between the two parties concerned and had no bearings on the employment process adopted in the country
There are 800 registered agencies in the country and the particular job agency association called ALFIA is represented by 200 agencies. “ They cannot take unilateral decision to enter into MoU on behalf of the entire association with any of their counterparts in the employers country. “The so called MoU between the said two parties to set recruitment charges at a maximum of Rs 5,500 are irrelevant to us moreover the MoU itself contravenes the existing regulations under the Foreign Employment Act” Ruhunage said.