IOM will organize a workshop on labour migration research and
foreign employment recruitment monitoring at the Sri Lanka
Foundation Institute in Colombo on Monday, 14th March.

The event, which will be chaired by Secretary to the Ministry of
Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare (MFEPW), Col. Nishanka
Wijeratne, will focus on the issue of foreign recruitment
monitoring and will share the findings of a recent IOM study:
Foreign Labour Migration Prospects for Sri Lanka.

"Sri Lankan migrant workers are the highest foreign exchange
earners for Sri Lanka.  Safeguarding their rights and
providing adequate welfare and protection for them and their family
members is a priority of the Ministry of Foreign Employment
Promotion and Welfare and IOM intends to support them in achieving
these goals," says IOM Sri Lanka Chief of Mission Richard
Danziger.

The Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare has
launched a number of initiatives, including a proposal to introduce
a Migrant Workers' Charter, and a proposal to increase the minimum
age of migrant workers from 18 to 21, as part of a plan to develop
a higher-skilled Sri Lankan overseas labour force.

Another recent initiative is the Bureau of Foreign Employment
(SLBFE)'s new Migrant Resource Centre, which provides regularly
updated information to Sri Lankans interested in working abroad and
to their families.

As part of the Centre's activities, IOM and SLBFE will be
organizing ten awareness-raising seminars across the island and
producing and distributing a video and handbook on safe migration
and guidance on how best to prepare for employment overseas.

As part of the ongoing cooperation between the Government of Sri
Lanka and IOM, government representatives will be attending the
IOM-organized Regional Conference and Market Place for Labour
Migration in Jaipur, India later this month, along with
representatives from the governments of India, Bangladesh and
several European countries.

For further information please contact:

Udara Soysa

IOM Colombo

Tel: +94.11.532.5300

E-mail: "mailto:usoysa@iom.int">usoysa@iom.int