Fifty-year-old U.D. Sanjeewani Silva made the following sentiments concerning the future of her son.
“It was due to the spate of problems that had emerged within our household that our son decided to go abroad. The shop where he worked was closed down by its owner due to a lack of business to sustain it. At the time, many people were planning to head overseas. My son worked at a ‘Saiva Kade’ (Vegi food shop). Now he is employed as a Clerk in Qatar. He planned to go there via a nearby Agency. As he struggled to find the necessary money, one of his friends from Kurunegala went overseas. With his help, our son prepared his certificates to go abroad. However, in the initial stages, he did not find any employment. He left in 2021, and by the grace of God, he has been able to find some kind of employment there. He is staying without any issues. If this country had been in a stable state, then we would not have been forced to send our children overseas.”
Just like her, scores of parents are looking into an uncertain future as their offspring have been sent overseas to usher in a better tomorrow for their families due to the parlous state of this country.
Driven by poverty
It is also no secret that had this country been in a stable state with its economy booming, none of these parents would have been compelled to send their kids abroad to alleviate the sufferings of their families.
Whilst perusing the data tabulated by the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) it has come to light that during last year alone a total of 311,056 Sri Lankans had emplaned seeking foreign employment and compared to 2021, it’s an increase of 154.4 per cent.
The views expressed by Sanjeewani further underscores the increase in the number of locals heading abroad for jobs.
The primary motive for this increase in the number had been Sri Lanka’s economic upheaval which it is yet struggling to overcome. Such a sizeable number of locals had left this country seeking a better future due largely to the economic and political crisis which plagued this nation during the past year.
It is also no surprise that this number is continuing to increase, and out of this data it has been revealed that from those who had taken wing 60.1 per cent had been males whilst the balance 39.9 per cent had been females.
It has also indicated that the majority of Sri Lankans had emplaned to the Gulf region seeking jobs during the past year or so and from the total number that had gone out it is 84.7 per cent.
These details had also been confirmed by the reports released by the CBSL.
Rise in skilled migration
Further analysis of this data has shown that out of the total number of those that had sought foreign jobs, 92,836 had done so as skilled labourers and compared to previous years that is a steep increase. As per the stats available from 2013 up to last year, the majority of those who had received overseas employment had emerged during 2022 in the aforesaid period.
This has also been confirmed via the reports released connected to 2022 by the SLBFE. Though the stats have indicated such details the majority of those that had gone abroad are of the concerted view that their predicament has not improved since leaving the country. It has also been revealed that during the past year, a large number of unskilled labourers (105,509) had also left the country seeking to better their immediate future. It has also come to light that a total of 123,420 people had emplaned having registered themselves with the SLBFE in 2022 while another 187,636 had done so via various other sources.
As a percentage those that had gone abroad through illegal means have stood at 60.3 and this has been confirmed via the release of the 2022 Annual Financial Report by the CBSL. It is also a fact that all foreign employment agencies here must be registered with the SLBFE. If one were to further clarify it, if a Sri Lankan is determined to go overseas for employment then either he or she has to undertake such a task via a legally recognised institution. It is also a known fact that due to the increase in the number of Sri Lankans seeking overseas jobs annually, employment agencies tend to spring up akin to mushrooms in this neck of the woods. According to sources from the SLBFE though there is a strong tendency to set up foreign employment agencies in this country majority of those agencies do not show unbridled enthusiasm when it comes to registration with the SLBFE.
“We have no sufficient money to head to a developed foreign country. We have no funds to incur for that type of thing. But, a friend of mine who is working at an agency fixed a job for me. I then arranged to go there with another colleague of mine. It was my friend there who had prepared our tickets and visas. Both of us were charged Rs 300,000 each. Then we were told to pay Rs 40,000 to the person who had arranged the job for us. We were due to go by late January. Then by and by were told to go to their Nugegoda office around the second week of February. We were told that all those who are sent by them are given basic training and that it will be followed by the final interview. We were requested to be there without fail. We were then advised to bring Rs 40,000 to be given to the middleman whom it is believed has worked behind the scenes. By the time we arrived, there were scores of people. We hoped that our dream would come true. But, alas, it was not to be. After handing over the money we returned home and to date, we are yet to hear from that agency. Even the Passport that was taken away from us has not been returned to us. Only later did we realise that it was a bogus agency. They have hoodwinked scores of youth both males and females, robbing them of their hard-earned monies. As we too had gone behind a bogus agency and obtained bogus certificates we cannot lodge a complaint with the Police against these people. Finally, these people had duped us and fled the country with our money. We are now forced to pay interest on loans that we had obtained with no fixed income,” said H.G. Pradeepa Kumari, 33, explaining her ordeal.
Bogus job agencies
Not only Pradeepa even most of those who spoke to the author of this article believe that their sorry state had been further exacerbated due to the proliferation of bogus job agencies operating here.
It has to be stated that the Police too on their part have reportedly raided bogus job agencies during their routine operations but the fact of the matter is that despite such raids, fake agencies continue to spring up nevertheless.
Data collated by the Police Department has shown that less than 40 per cent of inquiries are conducted into the setting up of these agencies and into various irregularities committed by such agencies.
When contacted, Police Media Spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa said, “The authority to investigate and raid those who operate bogus job agencies and commit various irregularities lies not only with the Police but also with the SLBFE. The Police only intervene in such matters solely based on complaints. However, the stumbling block is that the victims who have ‘wronged’ by patronising bogus agencies are unwilling to come forward to lodge such complaints fearing the consequences. Due to this reason, those who dupe the people tend to go scot-free at the end of the day. This mindset has to change soon, in order to get rid of these errant job agency owners. If the people who suffer at the hands of these unscrupulous job agency owners, speak openly about their ordeal and help the Police to nab them, then this menace could be brought under control or else it will continue to haunt the society.”
The majority of those who head overseas illegally fall into the category of unskilled labour.
However, the SLBFE has taken measures to relocate most of them to safer locations and countries in the backdrop of various issues faced by them at the hands of their employers.
As per available records, compared to previous years the number of complaints received from migrant workers had increased during 2022. By the end of the last year, a total of 1,925 complaints had been received from females while the number recorded from males had stood at 387. As a result, the total number of complaints had remained at 2312. The total complaints received during the past 22-year period had remained at 4,500 and of that number, the males had lodged 831 complaints while the number recorded from females had been 3,669.
The number of complaints received from the skilled labourers during the period referred to had stood at 497 while the number recorded from unskilled workers had remained at 1,124. Hence it is no surprise that the majority of the complaints lodged during the period in question have been from unskilled workers.
The Deputy GM (Media Spokesman) of the SLBFE P. G. Gamini Senerath Yapa said:
“Data collated by us annually has shown that most of these complaints had been lodged by the unskilled workers. That is due to the ‘language difficulty’ faced by them. Due to this shortcoming, they are unable to comprehend issues that crop up in relation to their job. Also when they go overseas sans proper training they tend to experience such issues. Also, as a result, they get involved in feuds with their employers. And when they face such problems they are compelled to move into another job secretly.”
Consequences of illegal migration
K. Neeta Fernando recalling her experience after heading overseas without proper training had this to say:
“For around 15 years I was employed out of Sri Lanka. Though this place is comfortable for me now, when I first arrived I did so illegally. It was only after I went there that I realised what this ‘deal’ is all about. Initially, I did not understand anything. As they spoke Tamil, I managed to learn the language with the help of another domestic servant who was employed at the same household. I initially did housekeeping and I could not understand what was uttered by my employers at the beginning. Due to this shortcoming, problems started mounting. Then I managed to escape from that house.
When I was first sent the job agency officials assured me that I need not worry about the language as the house owner was kind, that they would treat me well and that I would be able to master it. Though I was contracted for a period of four years, it was with the greatest difficulty that I spent eight months in my job. I then informed about my problems to the agency officials and managed to return home. Later, I followed a SLBFE course in Kurunegala and then left again. Even then, I found it difficult to grasp the language at the time. But, now I am able to converse fluently in four languages (Tamil, Arabic, Hindi and English) besides my mother tongue.”
Not only Neeta the stats have underscored the grim fact that the majority of migrant workers who had left this country had done so sans adequate training. In that light, the onus lies with the SLBFE to place more emphasis on sending skilled workers to foreign lands rather than those who are unskilled at their jobs. It is also a fact that cannot be denied if more skilled workers are sent overseas, then the issues faced by them at their workplaces could be marginal compared to those faced by their unskilled counterparts.
The Media Spokesman of the SLBFE further opined; “If the workers are skilled at their job then they would be able to lay claim to superior salaries rather than those who are unskilled. When these people return home they not only bring with them, foreign exchange but also human capital. If a skilled worker goes for a particular job then that person would also be in line to receive additional on-the-job training in that country rather than for an unskilled person. Then they will also be able to further enhance their quality of service and upon coming back would be able to contribute to the country’s economy. But, these unskilled workers have no chance to lay claim to these prospects. That is the difference between these two categories. We as a country have addressed this situation. Hence as the SLBFE, we are striving to send across more and more skilled workers as opposed to sending the unskilled employees. Also, if we are able to release more skilled workers to the job market then the issues faced by them at their workplaces could be reduced markedly. Therefore, we have already set in motion projects aimed at training the unskilled labourers as well as those who are skilled.”
Already some 18 institutions are in place in this country which provide training to those who seek prospective employment overseas. These institutions had functioned within the past year according to stats released by the SLLBFE. It is also a tragedy to find that only 18 institutions are in place in this country to undertake this onerous task for the people. The CBSL reports released for 2022 have also shown that apart from the 18 State institutions undertaking this exercise two private reps are also carrying out this task. But, the problem seems to lie elsewhere. During the period from 2014 to 2015, 13 such training centres affiliated to the SLBFE had functioned and the number of private reps had also been 13. But, if Sri Lanka is determined to send across more and more skilled workers abroad then the Government would need to seriously address the issue of increasing the number of training centres for aspiring job seekers.
By Mithun Jayawardhana
This article was originally published on The Ceylon Today newspaper on 30 September 2023
