Sri Lankans facing distress while working overseas could soon be entitled to free, State-funded legal representation and air tickets back home under a proposed Private Member’s Bill submitted to Parliament by President’s Counsel and MP Faiszer Musthapha.
The proposed Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (Amendment) Bill seeks to amend the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment Act, No. 21 of 1985, by introducing a new Section 48A. The legislation would shift emergency legal assistance and repatriation for registered Sri Lankan migrant workers from an administrative or discretionary response to a statutory obligation for the State.
Under the proposed amendments, the State would be required to provide legal representation through lawyers qualified to practise in the relevant host country, cover legal expenses, and arrange return travel including economy-class air tickets, transit arrangements, and emergency medical clearance for verified distressed workers.
Qualifying circumstances for State assistance include non-payment of contractual salaries for three consecutive months, documented physical, psychological, or sexual abuse, premature or illegal termination of employment contracts, or exposure to armed conflict, severe political unrest, and natural disasters in the host country.
tuned to the legal environments of destination countries, the Bill also proposes mandatory pre-departure training for all registered migrant workers, covering cultural literacy, destination cyber laws, and legal provisions governing social media use. Additionally, it empowers the Minister to introduce regulations and establish a committee to review and determine applications for assistance.
If enacted, the legislation would significantly strengthen legal protections for Sri Lankans employed by private-sector undertakings and public corporations abroad, while increasing the Government’s financial and administrative obligations. The move marks a further step by Musthapha following his recent involvement in the legal delegation that successfully appealed the death sentence of Sri Lankan migrant worker Anojan Sivarasa in Saudi Arabia. (Newswire)