JVP urges Sri Lankan migrant workers to give policy ideas
Sri Lanka's leading leftist party reached out to migrant workers in Hong Kong last weekend when Sunil Handunnetti, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna member of parliament, invited them to engage in policy- making for the sake of their future which has been mortgaged and driven to bankruptcy by two main political parties.
At an afternoon gathering organised by Sri Lankans in a community hall the past Saturday, Mr Handunnetti encouraged migrant workers who pour nearly US$ 8 billion into the country's economy directly, to contribute through their thinking on policies that matter to them and their families and their deeply- indebted country.
He said their ideas could be contributed through the Jathika Vidwath Sanvidhanaya.
Mr Handunnetti is a member of the JVP politburo and chairman of the Committee on Public Enterprises.
He and the JVP have advocated for voting rights for Sri Lankan migrant workers, the breadwinners of the country. Following a motion by him on the issue, a parliamentary select committee has been agreed.
The gathering in Hong Kong was organised by S W Sampath Kumara Somarathna, Sudam Fernando, Nalaka Perera, B. M Ruwan Saranga, and S J P Suranga Lakmal.
Mr Handunnetti, showed great interest in learning about policies himself in Hong Kong, unlike other political visitors including envoys who serve in China, who go shopping, have lunches, cocktails, and dinners with their entourages.
Just hours after landing in Hong Kong on Friday morning, he met a few professionals to understand public transport policy, the rule of law in Hong Kong; the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and its global network; community and tax contributions of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, a statutory authority; immigration and asylum policies, and the ‘one country, two systems’ governing arrangement of Hong Kong, a policy that demonstrates China’s pragmatism towards Hong Kong.
He landed on the day Hong Kong was marking the 20th anniversary of this policy.
He was briefed on the rule of law, its origins and implementation as a core value of Hong Kong, by lawyer, Mr Sarath Dissanayake, who has earned the unconditional respect and admiration of Sri Lankans for his services to migrants, often for free.
Mr Handunnetti discussed policy documents and saw for himself, how for example, the various bus, tram, and rail services operate in the island ranked as having the best public transport in the world.
Importantly, he inquired into deficiencies of the honorary consul arrangement ( by a figurehead Chinese businessman), lack of a formal remittance service, the unjust fees charged by the Foreign Employment Bureau, and non- existent support of the Ministry of Foreign Employment.
He acknowledged that migrant workers are the biggest foreign exchange earners for the country ( not tea, garments, or gems) and said the money goes directly into the economy unlike tourism investors such as Shangri- La which receive fabulous tax holidays.
In fact, in 2011, under a Gazette notification, Basil Rajapaksa allowed Shangri-La Hotels Lanka ( Private) Limited and Shangri-La Investments Lanka (Private) Limited 10-year corporate tax holidays and five-year tax exemptions from PAYE tax for a maximum of 20 expatriate staff members. The two companies were exempted from withholding tax on interest on foreign loans for capital expenditure, consultants’ and management fees, royalty payments and marketing fees if they are paid to three subsidiaries of Shangri-La Asia Limited.
Mr Handunnetti also asked migrants what have they received in return for the billions they send home and suggested they engage further to campaign for their rights.