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Lanka’s returning female migrant workers don’t plan for long-term sustainability: study
ECONOMYNEXT –A majority of Sri Lanka’s female migrant workers aim to return the moment their immediate financial targets are met, with little or no plans for long-term economic sustainability, a study by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) has found.
Most female workers who travel abroad do so in search of income that would help finance their debt burdens and other financial difficulties back home and expect to return as soon as those financial targets are met, the IPS said in a statement authored by Research Assistant Manisha Weeraddana.
“In fact, these migrant workers rarely see the need for such reintegration as they do not understand the economic and labour market realities until they try to reassimilate into their lives back home,” IPS said.
With the recent launch of the National Policy and Action Plan on Migration for Employment (2023-2027), it is timely to draw up a picture of Sri Lankan returnee female migrant workers and the socio-economic nuances that determine the ultimate decision-making of these women to migrate and/or reintegrate, the institute said.
Among the key concerns highlighted in the statement is a lack of job opportunities as well as forced migration.The IPS study collected data from 511 return migrant workers randomly selected from Kandy, Kurunegala, Puttalam, Anuradhapura and Vavuniya.
“Here there is no specific work nearby. Sometimes, there is work in vegetable fields … we get around LKR 1000-1200. But it is very hard to find work,” one worker by the name of Asoka had told the researchers, pointing to what IPS called a major issue faced by return female migrant workers in the sample.
“A good part of those who stated lack of job opportunities as a major impediment faced during economic reintegration are considering re-migration or settling down to opening small boutiques with whatever they have managed to save up from their time abroad. Thus, in a way, the decision between successful reintegration and remigration mostly deals with the lack of job opportunities in rural areas,” the statement said.
A lack of support systems and running on borrowed time are other concerning factors.
“Can’t leave my daughter and go in search of jobs… Earlier his (husband’s) mother was there …” says Asoka.
IPS said Sri Lankan women who migrate for work seem to act on borrowed time which allows them to migrate, earn, send home their incomes, and return home when “time runs out” or in other words, when the support system back home can no longer accommodate the household duties left vacant by a woman.
The National Business Facilitation Centre (NBFC), which is being established under the Presidential Secretariat with the aim of removing administrative and regulatory barriers that exist among government institutions in relation to investment and industry and expediting these processes, will be opened tomorrow (22).
The centre is being established on the President’s initiative with the aim of bringing about a positive transformation in the industrial sector. The centre will provide solutions to issues that arise in dealing with the government machinery when starting and operating a business, while also coordinating with the relevant government institutions to provide the necessary facilities.
The “ViYASA” National Business Facilitation Centre (NBFC) has been established at Building C-80, Hector Kobbekaduwa Mawatha, Colombo 07, and is headed by Senior Additional( Secretary to the President, Seevali Arukgoda.
The centre will be opened under the patronage of Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Dr Anil Jayantha Fernando and Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Sunil Handunnetti, with the participation of Secretary to the President Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake.
The website https://nbfc.presidentsoffice.gov.lk is also scheduled to be officially launched on the occasion.
President’s Media Division)
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Court of Appeal Judge M. Sri Mevan Anthony Edirimannasuriya Corea appointed as Acting President of the Court of Appeal
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed Court of Appeal Judge Mayadunna Sri Mevan Anthony Edirimannasuriya Corea as the Acting President of the Court of Appeal.
The appointment has been made as President’s Counsel Nalin Rohantha Abeysuriya, who currently serves as President of the Court of Appeal, will be overseas until the 24th.
Accordingly Judge Mayadunna Corea was sworn in as Acting President of the Court of Appeal before President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential secretariat this morning (21).
Secretary to the President Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake was also present at the occasion.
(President’s Media Division)
Latest News
President instructs expediting further measures concerning Sivarasa Anojan, sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia
A discussion to review the further measures that could be taken regarding Sivarasa Anojan, a young Sri Lankan national who has been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia, was held at the Presidential Secretariat this afternoon (21), under the patronage of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
The discussion focused on the measures taken to date concerning Sivaraasa Anojan and the further diplomatic and legal steps that could be pursued. Attention was also given to expediting the necessary further measures that could be taken to secure his release.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake instructed officials to continue the necessary diplomatic engagement with the relevant authorities in Saudi Arabia and to maintain close and continuous involvement in all further measures concerning the case.
Reaffirming the Government’s continued attention to the safety and welfare of Sri Lankans living and working overseas, the President also stressed the need for the relevant ministries and institutions to work in close coordination and pursue all possible measures that could be taken in connection with the case.
Deputy Speaker Rizvie Salih, Deputy Minister of Religious and Cultural Affairs Muneer Mulaffer, Governor of the Western Province Hanif Yusoof, Secretary – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Aruni Ranaraja, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retd), Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe and officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism were also present at the discussion.
(President’s Media Division)
“ViYASA” National Business Facilitation Centre (NBFC) to be opened tomorrow (22)
Court of Appeal Judge M. Sri Mevan Anthony Edirimannasuriya Corea appointed as Acting President of the Court of Appeal
President instructs expediting further measures concerning Sivarasa Anojan, sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia
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