By Lakna Paranamanna
The Foreign Employment Bureau (FEB) yesterday said it was seeking legal counsel from the Attorney General to call for a new tender procedure when giving insurance policies to migrant workers in Kuwait.

The Association for Licensed Foreign Employment Agencies (ALFIA) announced a boycott on the procedures to send Sri Lankans for employment abroad. It was taken as a step to object to an insurance policy that has been made compulsory to subscribe for the Sri Lankan housemaids in Kuwait.

“This tender for the insurance policy was called and accepted in 2006,” said the Foreign Employment Bureau (FEB) Chairman, Kingsley Ranawaka. The ALFIA complains that the insurance policy which the housemaids are made compulsory to subscribe for is inappropriate and the employers in Kuwait are absconding as it costs them 50 Kuwait Dinars. “So, now we are focusing on options which will enable the Ministry to cancel the tender and call for a new tender. We have already approached the Attorney General for legal advice regarding the matter,” said Ranawaka.

He also said that this boycott will not have any adverse effects on the employers that have applied for visa and are expecting jobs. “The Minister, Keheliya Rambukwella will be taking a decision on this matter, since the actions to be taken regarding this matter is still under discussion,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare implemented the Sri Lanka National Policy on Labour Migration, yesterday. This is the first policy implemented on labour migration in South Asia.

The policy was implemented in the light of expressing the state policy regarding Sri Lankan citizens engaged in employment aboard and to identify the contribution of all Sri Lankan migrant workers to the national economy through foreign exchange remittances and other mechanisms.

The policy has given priority to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions. It is mainly developed under three sections; governance of the migration process, protection and empowerment of migrant workers and their families and connecting migration development procedures.