Sri Lankans urged to register for welfare protection
70th Independence Day celebration of the nation today, community fete on February 9
The Sri Lankan ConsulGeneral in Dubai has urged Sri Lankans who haven’t yet registered with the foreign employment bureau back home to register with the labour office at the consulate to ensure their welfare is protected.
Sri Lankans leaving for work abroad must go through proper government channels prior to their departure, according to the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) Act No. 21 of 1985 as amended by Act No. 4 of 1994.
The registration with SLBFE comes with a fee that provides workers the necessary insurance cover and benefits should a problem occur overseas like critical illness, sudden death, disability, job loss, among others.
Consul-General Charitha
Manoj Felix, a fire safety trainer at Al Salama Fire Safety Training, told Gulf News that Yattogoda said the registration is for the workers’ own good.
“To be considered as a legal migrant worker, they should register with the SLBFE prior to departure,” Yattogoda told Gulf News.
“The blue-collar sector is not allowed to leave the country without registering first. There are certain restrictions imposed on them, particularly those serving in the domestic sector and so on. For professionals, most of the people they train don’t know the importance of closing their bedroom doors the strict requirements are not imposed [prior to departure] but everybody is encouraged to register,” he added.
The comments came ahead of Sri Lanka’s 70th Independence day today and the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Consulate-General in Dubai.
A dinner reception will be held on the day and a community-wide celebration will be held at Zabeel Park on February when they sleep. If a fire erupted in your kitchen, for example, even if your bedroom door is not a fire-rated one, it can slow down the process of fire, heat, and smoke transfer to your room. Working interconnected smoke detectors in your Visit the labour section at the consulate. Bring a copy of the labour contract or offer letter. Pay Dh385 registration fee that is good for two years with the same employer.
Welfare benefits locally and overseas — maintenance of safe houses for distressed female workers, repatriation of distressed workers, insurance coverage, legal assistance for needy workers, scholarship for migrant workers’ children, loan at low interest etc.
Benefits:
9 for the Sri Lankan Day 2018.
An estimated 250,000 Sri Lankans live and work in the UAE, a majority of whom are in Dubai.
Some 25 per cent are working in blue-collar jobs while the rest work in the hospitality, health care, aviation, banking and education sectors.
Although they encourage all Sri Lankans to enter the UAE on an employment visa, there are those who still come on a visit visa and find employment here like other nationalities. But they should not fail to register themselves.
Yattogoda said the consulate extended assistance to 1,018 Sri Lankans who were in need in 2017. It also repatriated 415 of its citizens.
“In our case, we don’t have an exact fund as such but we have a different system where we request workers to register under the SLBFE, then they have cover under that,” Yattogoda said.
“Other than that, depending on the case, the government decides the best course of action. Our policy is, whenever they need our assistance, we have to help them. There are certain situations where we cannot help, for example, if they defaulted on a loan or a payment. But still, within our limitations, we always facilitate,” Yattogoda explained.