SLFEB given powers to nab illegal foreign job agents

by Lalin FERNANDOPULLE

The number of raids made on illegal foreign job agents increased this year following the amendment to the Foreign Employment Bureau Act, said Chairman, SLFEB, Kingsley Ranawaka.

He said, around 160 raids were carried out this year and there is a marked increase compared to previous years.

“The Bureau has taken maximum measures through its round the clock operations to nab bogus agents and bring them before the law”, he said.

The SLFEB has been given the authority to arrest illegal agents without a warrant and produce them before court.

“Subsequent to the amendment a few months ago illegal job agents from Matale and Wattala were produced before court”, Ranawaka said.

The amendment to the Act No. 21 of 1984 widen the powers of the SLFEB to bring to books the bogus agents and impose a stringent fine.

A minimum fine of Rs. 100,000 and a maximum of four-year imprisonment could be imposed on errant agents under the new Act.

Ranawaka said agents cannot charge a fee according to their whims and fancies. And a receipt should be produced which is mandatory under the law. The Bureau has launched an islandwide awareness program for foreign job seekers. The first of a series was launched in Kandy and Kurunegala last month.

“There is no major impact on the global economic crisis on Sri Lankan migrant workers though there has been a decline in the number of migrants”, he said.

The number of migrants dropped from 252,000 last year to around 240,000 this year according to SLFEB reports. The Bureau states that this year’s figures are higher compared to 2007 which recorded around 225,000 migrants.

Japan, South Korea, Romania and countries in the EU are some of the new markets for Lankan migrants. Around 1.3 million Lankans are living overseas of which a majority are based in the Middle East.