|
Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare, Government of Sri Lanka
The Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare has developed a
National Labour Migration Policy for Sri Lanka -
(pdf 2,84 MB)
• Sinhala (pdf 395 KB)
• Tamil (pdf 3,6 MB), which articulates the State's commitment to ensuring a labour migration process that adheres to principles, and guidelines enshrined in international instruments and international good practices. It aims at developing a long-term vision for the role of labour migration in the country within the frameworks of the overall development strategy for the country (Ten Year Development Plan, 2006-2016) and the National Policy for Decent Work in Sri Lanka.
The overall objective of the policy is to advance opportunities for all men and women to engage in migration for decent and productive employment in conditions of freedom, dignity, security and equity. The policy recognises the significant contribution of all Sri Lankan migrant workers to the national economy through foreign exchange remittances and other mechanisms. It focuses on strategies for enhancing the benefits of labour migration, and minimizing its negative impacts for the economy, society, and migrant workers and their families consistent with the protection of all human and labour rights of migrant workers.
The policy focuses on three major areas: governance of the migration process, protection and empowerment of migrant workers and their families, and linking migration and development processes. A unique feature is that the policy has been developed through an extensive consultative process among all concerned stakeholders - relevant government ministries and agencies, employers' and workers' organizations, migrant associations, civil society and concerned international agencies. The National Policy elaborates on Government's strategies, policy commitments and measures to address the major challenges and issues identified by all stakeholders in the consultative process. The Policy further contains a detailed work plan outlining action to deal with important policy issues that have been identified.
The development of the National Policy was guided by the ILO Multilateral Framework on Labour Migration, which elaborates non-binding principles and guidelines for a rights-based approach to labour migration. The Multilateral Framework contains a comprehensive collection of principles and guidelines for sound labour migration policies firmly grounded in applicable international instruments and good practices. Sri Lanka is indeed the first country in the Asian region to develop a labour migration policy based on this internationally acclaimed instrument.
The Policy was officially launched by the Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare on 24 February 2009, and approved by the Sri Lanka Cabinet on 30 April 2009.
The Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare has pledged full responsibility to carry forward this National Policy on Labour Migration, recognising the roles and responsibilities placed on key stakeholders and actors in the process. The MFEPW will establish mechanisms for monitoring and reporting back on the implementation of the policy and the realisation of its objectives.
The development of the National Policy for Labour was supported by the International Labour Office - the ILO Office for Sri Lanka, Colombo and the International Migration programme, Geneva (through the ILO/DFID [Department for International Development, UK] technical cooperation project on "Effective Action for Labour Migration Policies and Practice").
|
