Today, many serious problems have arisen in this country, the economy of this country has collapsed, the country is on the verge of bankruptcy and debt repayment has become serious. People are starving, economically collapsed and waiting in gas and fuel queues. Also, people die in hospitals due to lack of medicines. The children are screaming in pain. Many of them lost their jobs and has been seeking an opportunity from various other countries to support their family. In this article we are going to explore what are the adverse effects on us if this situation continues.
Sri Lanka’s outward labour migration has topped the 100,000 marks
so far during the year, with an increasing number of Sri Lankans moving to take
up foreign employment opportunities to escape from the worsening economic and
political crises in the country.
The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) says that
the number of people leaving for foreign employment has increased in the first
five (5) months of this year. This is an increase of 286% over the first five
months of last year. The number of people who went abroad for employment in the
first five months of 2021 was 27,360. But in the first five months of 2022,
1,05,821 people went abroad for work. This increase is 78,461.
Going abroad for employment can be done in two ways,
self-employed and through licensed foreign employment agencies. In the first
five months of this year, 67,156 people went abroad for self-employment. It has
30,040 males and 17,121 females. In the first five months of this year, 17,121
women and 13,441 men went abroad for employment through licensed foreign
employment agencies. The total number of people who went abroad in the first
five months of this year by foreign employment agencies alone was 38,665.
Why has youth migration increased?
It is normal to be tempted to go abroad for work as soon as
you realize that you are not working in this country and the country is not moving forward. The
ultimate evil is that a person loses the protection of life, becomes insecure
and becomes uncertain about the future. When people get into that situation,
they choose a country where they can live more easily. The people of a country
fall into that situation because of the policies of the country. The educated
people of the country become frustrated when decisions are not taken on the
advice of scholars for the development policies of the country. They are
leaving the country. Also, due to not being able to get a job according to
their qualifications and not being able to live on the salary they receive,
they go abroad for jobs to win the struggle for a living. Today our country
does not have jobs that the economy can absorb. For example, we use cell
phones. But there is no opportunity in our country to make a product using the
knowledge of those who have learned about it. There is so much research being
done on drugs, but there is no room for a product. But our neighbor India is
different. It creates space for new products in that country. India has
developed industries and the economy is strong.
Going abroad for white collar professions such as medicine
and engineering has been going on since ancient times but going abroad for blue
collar professions like housemaid, driver, carpenter, mason started after 1977.
With the opening up of the world's doors to foreign employment on open economic
policies introduced in 1977, the money they earned flowed into Sri Lanka in
dollars. With the influx of foreign exchange into the country, Sri Lankans were
increasingly encouraged to work abroad as it is a major source of income for
the country.
Impact of migrating skilled labours
In the past, unskilled labor left for foreign employment.
But now all the untrained have started to leave. Leaving the country is not a
good sign. We call it a sign of poverty in a country. Many are leaving the
country because their skilled labor is not being utilized effectively for the
country's economy. The other thing is inadequate pay. This explains poverty. As
poverty increases, the number of people leaving the country increases. At the
same time, with increasing poverty, opportunities are limited. When
opportunities are limited, other factors such as political power, wealth, and
thuggery emerge. Due to such reasons the number of people leaving for foreign
employment is increasing. This is like a cycle.
The rise of poverty, there were even youth struggles in the
country due to restrictions on opportunities. But today that has changed, he
said, adding that leaving the country was an option rather than taking up arms.
We must not forget that when about 2 million of the country's labor force go
abroad, we lose the manpower needed for the development of our country.
Other countries experience due to this crisis
Our country could have been developed if the migrant labor
force had been used effectively. But now our country does not have the
necessary background for that. Besides, there is no proper system in our
country to utilize for our product increase. Asian countries such as Hong Kong,
Taiwan, and Korea developed because of this “regression” system. It was the
withdrawal of the migrant labor force from those countries that was used and
developed effectively for the country. In India, too, a special permit has been
issued to those who have gone abroad as “Non-Resident Indians”. They use their
knowledge, skills and labor to develop the country's economy using such a
strategy. But what we do is send our workers abroad and bring in dollars. For
more than 40 years the economy of our country was run by the dollars they sent.
Today we have no dollars. Our country does not even have the required manpower.
With the migration of our people, there is a shortage of manpower in the
country.
With the deficit in the country, their salaries are going
up. When the price of labor goes up, the price of production goes up. We do not
see that situation in countries like India and Bangladesh. Labor is cheaper in
those countries. So even investors can be attracted to those countries.
However, in the face of the current economic downturn, the
government is paying special attention to foreign exchange and foreign
employment opportunities. So, that language literacy programs should be
implemented expeditiously with the participation of public and private sectors
including the National Apprenticeship and Industrial Training Authority, the
Vocational Training Authority and the Bureau of Foreign Employment as more
opportunities can be created for high paying jobs by producing skilled workers.
President has given instructions. In addition, special attention will be paid
to the removal of barriers to departure for foreign employment of any person
currently employed in the public service or an employee recruited under the
Multipurpose Scheme.
The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) has
received a number of vacancies in several countries including Japan, Poland and
Romania. The President has paid special attention to the need to implement
language and vocational training programs targeting those opportunities.
Currently there is a high demand for nursing services in
many countries including Europe. In Japan alone, there are many job vacancies
in the adult care and catering industry. But for that, knowledge of Japanese
language is mandatory. If you have the necessary training and language skills
for the job, you can leave quickly. We ensure the safety and security of their
jobs. The 286% increase in the number of people going abroad for work in the
first five months of this year is very optimistic. Our goal is to increase the
number of migrants to 300,000 by the end of this year
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