The minister made these comments at the ‘Shramika Surakuma’ Mobile program held in Thirukkovil Divisional Secretariat in Ampara District on 21st August. This program provides solutions to problems faced by migrant workers.

Though there are more than 1.5 million migrant workers, only 90,000 registered to obtain facilities for their families and upto now only 300,000 have been registered, said the minister.

In the future, SLBFE will not consider the number of people going for foreign jobs but their quality. We will also check whether they are trained, their security as well as the facilities and the wages they get, said the minister.

Most of the migrant workers are from the East, North Central Province and Wayamba and most are women. When a woman left for a foreign employment in the past, the family was ruined by the time she came back we want to ensure that it doesn’t happen, said Minister Athukorala.