• SLBFE office in N’Eliya soon 

The Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment said that it has cancelled the licences of over 400 foreign employment agencies thus far due to malpractices in sending migrant workers overseas. 

Speaking at an event held yesterday (18), Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara said that out of those 400 foreign employment agencies, the licences of 200 agencies had been permanently cancelled. 

The Minister added that the Ministry is working to regulate the foreign employment sector in order to minimise inconveniences and frauds taking place within the related institutions. The Minister further noted that strict actions were taken against agencies and individuals who were sending workers overseas in a fraudulent manner. 

“We worked hard to regulate the foreign employment sector during the past year. Consequently, the licences of 400 agencies have been cancelled thus far, including around 200 permanent licence cancellations. Almost all those agencies have blatantly violated the laws and have encouraged illegal ways of migration,” he said. 

Nanayakkara also noted that the investigation units of the Ministry and the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) are conducting investigations continuously in order to stop illegal migration that could cause many inconveniences to both the Government and workers. He said that the units are conducting at least three to four raids per day in this exercise and also working to improve the quality of foreign employment agencies. 

He also said that the Ministry is working to establish an office of the SLBFE in Nuwara Eliya in order to facilitate the Tamil-speaking community. Stressing the importance of facilitating Tamil-speaking people in areas such as Nuwara Eliya and other areas, the Minister said that the Ministry is working towards the said objective.

“A large number of people from the Nuwara Eliya District go abroad for foreign jobs. They have to come to Colombo, Kandy, or Badulla to get the services. Even though they have travelled such a distance, the officials in the offices have no way to communicate with these people because they don’t know their language,” he added.