Security beefed up for returning migrant workers

By Ananda KANNANGARA.

Security deployed by the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) will be strengthned for the safety of local migrant workers returning from abroad from unauthorised persons who are in the habit of cheating them on their arrival at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA). Chairman, SLBFE, Kingsley Ranawaka told the Sunday Observer that the objective of this program is to provide additional protection to Sri Lankan migrant workers returning to the country from foreign assingments, especially from the Middle East,"

"We have over 1.3 million workers in foreign countries and it is the duty of the Bureau to ensure their safety while they are abroad and also returning to Sri Lanka,". According to Bureau statistics, nearly 5,000 Sri Lankan migrant workers return from Middle Eastern countries every month and the majority of them are females living far away from Colombo. The Bureau Chairman said that a security strengthening program was launched by the Bureau earlier, too, and it immensely benefited our female workers who were coming after their stint abroad with cash, jewellery and other valuable belongings.