Ravi questions Govt over wage exploitation of migrant workers

Colombo, June 19 (Daily Mirror) - UNP Parliamentarian Ravi Karunanayake today raised concerns in Parliament over the continued wage exploitation of Sri Lankan migrant workers in the Middle East, calling on the government to consider reintroducing a mandatory minimum wage policy for migrant workers.

Highlighting that a $300 minimum wage policy introduced in 2016 was scrapped in September 2021 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Karunanayake pointed out that Sri Lankans are now being recruited at significantly lower and exploitative wage rates, unlike their counterparts from countries such as the Philippines, Nepal, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. 

These countries, he noted, have secured bilateral agreements ensuring monthly wages ranging from $218 to $1,364 depending on job category.

Karunanayake stressed that with around 1.7 million Sri Lankans currently employed in the Middle East, implementing a fair wage policy could boost annual foreign remittances by an additional $1.5 billion.

He also questioned the Minister of Labour on the current minimum wages applicable to Sri Lankans working in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait, and whether bilateral labour agreements have been signed to guarantee fair pay and working conditions.

Karunanayake further queried how Sri Lanka ensures parity with the wages received by migrant workers from other South Asian nations, particularly in countries like Qatar, which has set a minimum wage of $494, and Saudi Arabia, where Filipino domestic workers earn at least $384 monthly.

The MP pressed for details on the legal and diplomatic measures in place to prevent underpayment and contract violations, and whether there are systems to monitor wage compliance by employers and agencies. 

He also called on the government to consider reintroducing a mandatory minimum wage policy for migrant workers and to empower the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau to issue guidelines to local recruitment agencies to prevent exploitation.