• Concerns over vulnerabilities Sri Lankan unskilled labour may face in Thailand and risk of trafficking

Sri Lanka is preparing to send thousands of its workers to Thailand under a new Government-to-Government (G2G) employment framework, a move that comes amid rising concerns over human trafficking risks and labour shortages in Thailand.

While officials stress the potential benefits of skilled labour exchanges, experts caution that the plan could pose significant long-term challenges, both for workers and for bilateral labour relations.

In August, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Thailand Wijayanthi Edirisinghe met Thai Labour Minister Pongkawin Juangrungruangkit in Bangkok to discuss the recruitment of Sri Lankan workers. Thailand, currently facing a shortage of foreign labour, expressed interest in diversifying its workforce beyond its traditional sources from Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Vietnam, especially for the construction and industrial sectors.

Ambassador Edirisinghe had assured Thailand of Sri Lanka’s readiness to provide skilled and reliable workers and promised to coordinate with relevant authorities to formalise recruitment procedures. Senior officials from both countries attended the meeting, marking a critical step in strengthening bilateral labour cooperation.

Progress on recruitment MOU

On Monday (1), the Ambassador continued discussions with Thailand’s Department of Employment Director General Somchai Morakotsriwan to review progress on a plan to recruit 10,000 Sri Lankan workers. 

The meeting followed the Ambassador’s earlier engagement with Thailand’s Labour Minister and the Sri Lankan Cabinet’s decision to proceed with the initiative. A draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) submitted by Sri Lanka is under review by Thai authorities for ministry approval.

During discussions, Ambassador Edirisinghe highlighted Sri Lanka’s skilled workforce in agriculture, construction, and industry, citing successful deployments to countries including Japan, South Korea, and Israel. Both sides committed to ensuring structured, safe, and legally compliant employment opportunities for Sri Lankan workers.

Thailand plans to bring in unskilled Sri Lankan workers to fill gaps left by tens of thousands of Cambodian labourers who have returned home amid border clashes.

However, labour expert Lae Dilokvidhyarat warned that this strategy may fail in the long term.

“Sri Lankans lack the farming and manual skills that Thai, Cambodian, Laotian, and Myanmar workers share, and they may face cultural and religious adjustment challenges. When Cambodian workers return, Thailand could face fresh labour shortages,” he said.

He estimated that approximately 1.5 million Cambodians had worked in Thailand, primarily in fishing, farming, construction, and services, with only a third legally registered. He recommended expanding quotas for Myanmar and Laotian workers, attracting Vietnamese labourers, and investing in technology and worker upskilling rather than relying on unskilled imports.

Despite these concerns, Thailand is proceeding with the initial plan to sign an MOU with Sri Lanka to recruit 10,000 workers. Meanwhile, the Thai Government has facilitated the return of up to 500,000 Cambodian workers through border gates, with thousands leaving daily.

Human trafficking risks

The recruitment plan has raised alarm among labour rights experts, given Sri Lanka’s ongoing struggles with human trafficking.

Senior Attorney-at-Law Sampath Perera, who works closely with trafficking victims, noted to The Sunday Morning that human trafficking remained one of the gravest human rights violations in Sri Lanka.

“Despite legal safeguards under the Penal Code and the Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution Act No.30 of 2005, organised traffickers exploit gaps in monitoring systems. The true challenge lies in enforcement, prevention, and creating effective institutional safeguards,” he said.

Perera highlighted the risks faced by Sri Lankan citizens, especially women, seeking employment abroad. “Traffickers often pose as legitimate employment agents, advertising vacancies that appear genuine but actually serve as fronts for exploitation. Victims are deceived with promises of high-paying jobs, only to face forced labour, servitude, or sexual exploitation once abroad. While the law recognises such acts as trafficking, the damage is often irreversible by the time the crime is detected,” he said.

He called for a more vigilant, preventive approach by the Government, including a robust mechanism to verify all job opportunities before recruitment approval.

“Such a verification system should involve a multi-agency review process, where the Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Criminal Investigation Department collaborate to screen vacancies, validate contracts, and ensure compliance with international labour standards. This is not only a matter of administrative efficiency but also a constitutional duty, as the State is obligated under Article 12 of the Constitution to afford equal protection to all citizens,” he added.

Perera further stressed that as a State Party to the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons (the Palermo Protocol), Sri Lanka had international obligations to strengthen protective mechanisms. “Failure to institute a credible vetting process could be seen as a breach of these obligations and undermine our international standing,” he explained. 

Prevention, he argued, was more effective than punishment in protecting citizens. He recommended establishing a central digital registry of approved vacancies, accessible to the public, so job seekers could verify opportunities before entering contracts. Recruitment agencies should also undergo periodic audits, with licences revoked if found complicit in trafficking activities.

“Human trafficking is not merely a criminal offence; it is a direct attack on human dignity and national integrity. The Government must adopt a proactive, rights-based approach, focusing on prevention through verification and monitoring,” he said.

Meanwhile, the National Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force (NAHTTF) recently warned of a surge in trafficking schemes targeting Sri Lankans in Southeast Asia. Organised crime groups are using fake online job advertisements and fraudulent offers, aiming to traffic over 50,000 people. Survivors have reported torture and abuse at scam centres in Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos.

The NAHTTF advises citizens to exercise caution, avoid unverified job offers, and register with the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) before travelling abroad for work. Families are urged to report suspicious recruitment activities to authorities.

Int’l assessment

The ‘2024 Trafficking in Persons Report: Sri Lanka,’ issued by the US Department of State, provides further insight into the challenges. 

The report shows that the Government slightly increased protection efforts, identifying 95 victims compared to 59 in the previous reporting period. Of the 95 victims, nine were sex trafficking survivors, 78 labour trafficking survivors, and eight survivors of unspecified forms of trafficking. Seven victims were Pakistani nationals.

The report noted that while the Government had Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for identifying and assisting victims, implementation remained uneven. Local officials often lacked the capacity to identify trafficking victims, particularly in cases not involving transnational movement. Misidentification of trafficking and smuggling cases remained common, and victims were sometimes charged for offences committed as a direct result of being trafficked.

Despite some improvements in victim care, including gender-sensitive medical examinations, enrolment in the victim information register, and compensation boards, services were reported as insufficient. Embassy shelters often accommodated only women, leaving unclear arrangements for male victims. Training gaps for labour attachés also hampered effective support abroad.

Strict certification rule

Meanwhile, from 1 July, Sri Lankans seeking self-directed employment in 13 countries must have their service agreements certified by the respective Sri Lankan embassies before registering with the SLBFE.

SLBFE Chairman Kosala Wickramasinghe said this requirement applied only to jobs outside the ‘professional’ list on the SLBFE website. Employers must submit agreements for certification, with a $ 60 fee. Initially, the law covers 15 diplomatic service sectors in the 13 countries where the SLBFE has labour missions.

He explained that the regulation aimed to reduce fraud and exploitation, ensure job security, guarantee valid employment contracts, and secure proper salaries for migrant workers.

In such a backdrop, Sri Lankans working abroad sent a record $ 697.3 million in remittances in July, marking the highest amount recorded in the January–July period, according to data from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. This represents a 19.5% increase compared to the $ 566.8 million sent in the same period in 2024. 

As a result, the country has received a total of $ 4.43 billion in remittances over the past seven months. During this period, 173,189 Sri Lankans went abroad for work, including 106,229 men and 66,960 women.

Wickramasinghe said that the country was expected to receive $ 7 billion in remittances by the end of 2025. He added that the SLBFE had implemented several initiatives to deploy qualified skilled workers overseas, aiming for 300,000 Sri Lankans to work abroad by the end of the year.

He further noted that the Government was sending workers to countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Israel under existing MOUs and expressed appreciation for the commitment of licensed employment agencies and Sri Lankans seeking overseas employment.

When contacted, Deputy Minister of Labour Mahinda Jayasinghe confirmed that the Government would take concerns regarding human trafficking and related issues into account before sending Sri Lankan migrant workers abroad. He noted, however, that his ministry did not handle foreign employment matters and recommended contacting the Foreign Ministry for more specific information. 

Efforts to reach Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment Vijitha Herath and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment Arun Hemachandra were unsuccessful.