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by DON ASOKA WIJEWARDENA

A Parliamentary Select Committee to look into the grievances of Sri Lankans employed in the Middle East and other countries will be appointed shortly. The Ministry of Labour has already obtained Cabinet approval for the purpose. The committee will deal with complaints of employees in a bid to grant redress and relief from hazards, anomalies in employment contracts, harassment, inhuman treatment and exorbitant rates charged by migrant workers by recruitment agencies in Sri Lanka.

The committee's observations, recommendations and legal solutions for victims based on provisions in the Foreign Employment Act will be submitted to the Ministry. This was disclosed by Minister of Labour, Mahinda Samarasinghe in an interview with the Sunday Observer.

Minister Samarasinghe said that he was aware that certain recruitment agencies in the country were not on par with international standards and they should be streamlined to that level since foreign countries sought the services of skilled, trained and competent personnel.

Mr. Samarasinghe said that the select committee would look into matters regarding recruitment procedures, those related to foreign jobs, whether training had been undergone in their respective categories, education and language proficiency, terms and conditions of the service agreement (contract), medical, welfare facilities, security of employment and other issues.

Labour Ministry sources said that in the recent past,a number of Sri Lankan women employed in foreign countries had been victimised by certain unscrupulous employers and the select committee will also look into the feasibility of minimising the number of people going abroad illegally for employment. The committee will look into problems and irregularities over remittance of money to Sri Lanka by migrant workers.

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