A Sri Lankan company director has been sentenced in New Zealand after being found guilty of exploiting a migrant worker employed at her business.

Dodamwalage Kalani Helikumari Jayawardhana, known as Kalani, was sentenced on 6 July to two years’ imprisonment, to be served as 12 months’ home detention, after being convicted on three charges of migrant exploitation following an investigation by New Zealand’s Immigration New Zealand (INZ).

The offences occurred while Jayawardhana was a director of Computer Express 24 Care Limited, a business based in Palmerston North.

The court also ordered her to pay NZ$59,657.68 in reparation, including unpaid wages, PAYE contributions, and NZ$15,000 that she had unlawfully demanded from the employee during the course of her employment.

According to INZ, the victim, a Sri Lankan national employed as an office manager, was repeatedly pressured to hand over large sums of money, including wages she had earned, while trying to build a future in New Zealand and progress her residency application.

INZ National Manager of Investigations Jason Perry described the case as a serious abuse of power, saying employers have no right to demand money from workers in exchange for employment or the prospect of a better future.

He said the case highlights the harm caused by migrant exploitation and serves as a warning that authorities will continue to pursue employers who profit from vulnerable migrant workers. (Newswire)

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The number of people claiming asylum in the UK fell by 12% in the year to March 2026, according to new Home Office data, though levels remain more than double those recorded just before the pandemic.

According to a report by the BBC, a total of 93,525 asylum applications were lodged over the 12‑month period, down from the previous year. 

The figures also show the number of asylum seekers housed in hotels dropped sharply to 20,885, compared with 30,657 in December 2025 and a peak of 56,000 in September 2023 under the former Conservative government.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that net migration has continued to fall, with 171,000 added to the UK population last year, the lowest level since 2012, excluding the Covid pandemic. 

Just over 800,000 people immigrated to the UK in 2025, down 20% on the year before, while 642,000 emigrated long‑term.

Officials said the decline was driven by fewer arrivals from outside the EU, particularly for work. 

Policy changes introduced in early 2024, restricting overseas students and care workers from bringing dependents, and raising salary thresholds for skilled visas, have been retained and expanded by Labour.

The government has since announced further measures, including requiring migrants to speak English to A‑level standard and raising the skilled worker visa income threshold to £41,700.

Despite claims of a “Starmer exodus,” the ONS noted that British emigration has remained broadly stable, with 257,000 nationals leaving in 2024 and 255,000 in 2023. 

The Liberal Democrats blamed Brexit for the trend, urging closer cooperation with European allies. (Newswire/ BBC)

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The third meeting of experts on the Migration Partnership between Sri Lanka and Switzerland was held in Bern on Tuesday (29), where the progress made under the Migration Partnership since its launch in 2016 was reviewed.

According to Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry, a discussion was also held on the future trajectory of the partnership after the formal handing over of the bilateral Safe Labour Migration Program (SLMP) to the Government of Sri Lanka last year. 

This programme was funded by Switzerland and underscores the commitment to institutionalizing sustainable frameworks for the protection and welfare of Sri Lankan migrant workers. 

Director General/Europe & North America at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Sugeeshwara Gunaratna and Director/International Affairs of the State Secretariat for Migration of the Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police, Ambassador Hendrick Krauskopf, co-chaired the meeting. 

During the meeting, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to promoting safe, orderly, and regular migration and maximizing the benefits of migration for both migrant workers and members of their families in both origin and destination countries. 

In this regard, discussions focused on pre-departure orientation, migration management, skills development, readmission and reintegration, and combating human trafficking. In particular, further Swiss assistance for the skills development of Sri Lankan migrant workers and strengthening collaboration with the National Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force (NAHTTF) were discussed. 

The two sides also exchanged views on current migration trends in both countries and opportunities for Sri Lankan workers through the development and recognition of the domestic skills development framework. 

The Sri Lanka delegation comprised representatives of the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau, the Department of Immigration and Emigration, as well as the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Geneva. 

The Switzerland delegation comprised representatives of the State Secretariat for Migration, the Federal Office of Police, and the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. (Newswire)

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By Yashora Gunawardena (IPS Research Assistant)

A recent IPS study brings out the reality of Sri Lankan Female Migrant Workers (FMWs), particularly those engaged in domestic work across the Middle East. These women juggle multiple roles across various locations, handling extra tasks, often beyond their contractual obligations. Despite the heavy workload, they often do not receive even their agreed-upon payment, which delays the timely transfer of money to their families, making it difficult for them to meet basic needs such as food, education, health and housing, ultimately leading to a shortfall in the country’s expected foreign exchange inflows, diminishing the broader economic gains of labour migration in Sri Lanka.

Trends in Migration

The female migration pattern in Sri Lanka has fluctuated notably over recent years. In 2018, considered a normal year before the economic crisis, women made up 38.6% (81,499) of total departures for foreign employment. However, in 2023, during the peak of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis, their share increased to 44.7% (133,048). 

Although women made up less than half of all migrant departures (44.7%) in 2023, they accounted for 80.3% of the total complaints (6,051 out of 7,535) received by the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE), indicating that complaints are proportionally higher among female migrants. Among these, wage-related grievances stand out. Of particular concern is that in 2023 alone, the SLBFE documented 694 complaints about wage non-payment, over half of which were lodged by FMWs. But behind the statistics, personal struggles often go unnoticed, and these untold stories deserve to be heard.

Why Women Migrate: The Dreams Behind the Journey

For many FMWs, migration is not just a choice but a necessity, beginning with the hope of escaping poverty, supporting their families, or securing a better future. The reasons women migrate are varied and deeply personal. But for migrant mothers, the journey takes on an even deeper meaning. Unlike other migrant women, they carry not only the weight of their struggles to strive for their survival but also the dreams for the future of their children. 

Many migrant mothers with school-aged children endure long working hours, difficult working conditions, and emotional sacrifices to build a better future for their children. For them, education is often seen as the pathway out of this vicious cycle of poverty. Education, something that many migrant mothers may have missed, motivates them to convert every penny earned into funds to invest in better quality education as revealed by UN Women Asia-Pacific study notes that many female migrant workers send money home explicitly for school-related costs such as books, tuition, and transport, despite the loneliness, overwork, or even abuse they may face abroad.

Unpaid Wages, Unfulfilled Promises

The issue of non-payment of wages goes far beyond simply not receiving wages for hard work, when the financial gap created by missing wages turns a mother’s sacrifice into a painful struggle, thus delaying her dreams of seeing her children receive proper education. 

One such example  from IPS’s recent study highlights the real struggles behind these statistics.  It is about a woman with two school-aged children who migrated to Oman to work as a domestic worker, hoping to give her children a better life through the income she would earn. However, once in Oman, she was not paid her salary for several months. She pleaded for her overdue payments as her children’s schooling depended entirely on the remittances she had planned to send back home. 

In Sri Lanka, when FDWs face such issues while working abroad, they, or their next of kin (NOK), can make a complaint to the SLBFE. When such complaints are received, the SLBFE reviews the details and then conducts an inquiry, involving both the NOK of the migrant worker and the local recruitment agent. In this case, during the SLBFE inquiry, the FDW’s husband, acting as her NOK, revealed that she had not received her salary for three consecutive months. 

This situation is not isolated. Delayed or unpaid wages among domestic workers in the Gulf countries are commonplace. A major issue in this context is that the recruitment culture for FDWs from Sri Lanka to the Middle East involves the employer paying an upfront incentive to the FDW before she takes up the employment overseas.  This shifts the expectation by the employer that the FDW needs to continue working, no matter what the situation. But this particular family’s situation was especially vulnerable.  In this case, the husband, who was unemployed at the time due to health reasons, explained that they had no other source of income. The family had been relying solely on her expected earnings to fund their children’s education. 

Mother’s Absence Costs More Than Earnings

While remittances bring clear financial benefits, it is crucial to look beyond the economic lens and consider what migration truly costs mothers and families, as it leaves a deep void in the upbringing of a child who must grow up without the daily care of a mother.

For the children left behind in the country of origin, the concerns primarily centre on “their social, educational, behavioural, and psychological development”.

Indeed, academic challenges exist broadly, as evidenced by the fact that nearly 50% of students in Sri Lanka fail their O/L examinations, even with the presence of both parents. But the absence of a mother due to migration can compound these challenges. Since the mother is away, it hurts a child’s life in many ways, as no one can replace a mother’s love and care. 

For instance, a real-life case reflecting these concerns is that of   a mother from Badulla who had spent over 20 years working in the Middle East..  During her long absence, her husband became an alcoholic. One of her daughters was unable to get through the O/L exams, and her other daughter ran away with a boy. As such, the absence of a mother, along with not having proper care at home and poor money management, can cause the children’s education falling apart, turning the mother’s dream into a fading hope. 

This is not just one story; there are many similar incidents all around us. These real-life stories align closely with the findings from the other studies’ supporting the idea that the absence of a primary caregiver, particularly the mother, can lead to educational development and emotional distress due to inadequate protection, particularly when fathers or other caregivers cannot provide necessary support, leading to increased vulnerability among these children.

SLBFE officers confirm this pattern through KIIs conducted for IPS’s latest study, 

“The social impact of mothers migrating and leaving their children behind is significant, as it heavily impacts their education and safety. They also reported that children often struggle without their mother’s guidance and emotional support, leading to a loss of focus in their studies and reduced motivation. 

These stories are just one or two of many, touching on the financial and emotional toll on many mothers who sacrifice every coin to give a better life for the children. Therefore, the personal struggles of migrant mothers that hide behind the figures usually go unnoticed.

Balancing Hope with the Hardships of Migration

The SLBFE has set plans to facilitate 340,000 foreign employment opportunities by 2025, marking the highest number of total departures for foreign employment in Sri Lanka’s history. It is important to recognise the broader economic and social costs associated with migration, even as Sri Lanka increasingly relies on sending record numbers of workers abroad as a strategy to reduce domestic unemployment and boost foreign exchange earnings. 

Instances of non-payment not only cause hardship for families but also hurt the national economy. Emotional and educational setbacks for children left behind can have long term impacts on Sri Lanka’s human capital development.

These stories of FMWs serve as a powerful reminder of the paradox of migration: Hopes for a better life versus the cost of emotional and financial hardships. This paradox underscores the urgent need for stronger policy measures to ensure that migration is safe, fair, and truly beneficial, both for the workers and for national development. 

Recommendations

To address financial challenges faced by migrant mothers due to delayed wages:

• Maintain employer accountability frameworks with wage protection mechanisms for the employees:

• Establish a Wage Protection System (WPS):  The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the Qatar Central Bank launched WPS, an electronic system, to track and record the worker wage payment process in Qatar. As such, to ensure timely salary payments, the SLBFE can maintain a database that enables recruitment agencies/employers to report on the payment status at 3- or 6-month intervals each year and upload verified payment slips as supporting documentation to ensure accuracy of the status.
• Public Disclosure of Defaulters: By reviewing the database, the SLBFE can publicly disclose the names of employers and recruitment agencies who fail to meet payment deadlines, thereby increasing transparency and encouraging timely payments.
• Good Employer/Agency List: Employers who remit their payments on time can be placed on a “good employer/agency list”, which serves as a positive reputational marker, motivating employers to maintain fair labour practices.

To address the educational and emotional challenges faced by children of migrant mothers:

• Focus on Family Support Initiatives: The SLBFE is currently granting scholarships for children of migrant workers. Rather than relying solely on scholarships, having a revolving fund or emergency grant system in place, which can be accessed more quickly when wage delays are detected. The fund could be set up by the SLBFE in collaboration with local or international partners, such as private sector companies or organisations focused on migrant welfare.

Sri Lanka can monitor these sensitive issues, such as the impact of migrating mothers and the sacrifices made for their children’s education. Protecting the well-being of migrant workers is not just a social imperative, it also supports national goals of reducing unemployment and increasing foreign exchange earnings. By aligning worker protection with economic development, Sri Lanka can fully realise the benefits of labour migration for families, ensuring that the sacrifices made by Sri Lanka’s migrant mothers are not in vain, and their hope for their children’s future can blossom into something real.

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Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath has stressed the importance of ensuring safe, orderly, regular, rights-based migration. 

He expressed these views in a recorded video message to the High-Level Segment of the 115th Session of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Council. 

The High-Level Segment of the IOM was themed: ‘Regular Migration Pathways: A Global Call for Action’, and the 115th Session of the Council was held in Geneva from 26-28 November 2024. 

Addressing the event, Minister Vijitha Herath said IOM’s work has increasing relevance in a rapidly evolving global migration landscape. 

“Therefore, we urge further sustained and coordinated action of IOM with all relevant UN agencies to support and strengthen States’ efforts to comprehensively respond to these challenges.

“Further, national efforts must work seamlessly with regional and international initiatives to protect people on the move, ensuring that risks are minimised, and regular migration pathways are strengthened,” he said. 

Minister Herath added; “Sri Lanka appreciates the valuable support provided by IOM, through its Sri Lanka country office, which continues to strengthen the development and implementation of Sri Lanka’s national policies on migration contributing to sustainable development and importantly, a rights-based approach to migration.” 

Full statement: 

I take this opportunity to convey our appreciation to the IOM for organising this High-Level Segment on the important theme – ‘Regular Migration Pathways: A Global Call for Action’. 

Migration has been a part of human existence for centuries. Today, people migrate voluntarily, primarily for work, or are compelled to do so due to natural disasters, climate change, conflict, and economic instability. In the process, they increasingly resort to irregular pathways of migration, risking their lives, and often falling victim to human trafficking. 

The real impact of the effects of climate change, conflict situations around the world, and economic compulsions driven by debt crises, on irregular movements has a heavy toll on the most vulnerable, particularly women and children.

IOM’s work has increasing relevance in a rapidly evolving global migration landscape. Therefore, we urge further sustained and coordinated action of IOM with all relevant UN agencies to support and strengthen States’ efforts to comprehensively respond to these challenges. Further, national efforts must work seamlessly with regional and international initiatives to protect people on the move, ensuring that risks are minimised, and regular migration pathways are strengthened. 

As a receiving, transit, and sending State pertaining to migration, Sri Lanka has been at the forefront of promoting safe, orderly and regular migration pathways through national, regional and international initiatives. Since migrants are human beings and migration must be rights-based, Sri Lanka has been at the forefront of promoting rights-based migration, internationally. Sri Lanka is one of the 60 States Parties to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. 

In this context, Sri Lanka underscores the significance of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2018. Its 23 objectives cover almost all dimensions of migration. 

I am pleased to inform that Sri Lanka is interested in becoming a GCM Champion Country, reinforcing our commitment to the GCM agenda on facilitating safe, orderly and regular migration. 

As a precursor to the 2nd Asia-Pacific Regional Review of the GCM to be held in February 2025 in Bangkok, Sri Lanka and IOM recently co-hosted the South Asia Sub-Regional Consultation on the GCM. Focusing on three key areas of significance to South Asia – (1) labour migration; (2) counter-trafficking; and (3) climate-induced displacement; the consultation served as a valuable platform for dialogue and deliberation among Governments and civil society from South Asian countries as well as multiple local stakeholders and UN agencies, which will be reported in an outcome document for the upcoming regional review in Bangkok. 

Sri Lanka, as the founding chair of the Colombo Process, a regional consultative process established in 2003, has been committed to enhancing regional cooperation, promoting the sharing of best practices related to labour migration in countries of origin of South and Southeast Asia.

In response to the rapidly evolving global context, Sri Lanka launched its National Policy and Action Plan on Migration for Employment 2023 – 2027 last year, aligning with the implementation of the GCM. 

Sri Lanka appreciates the valuable support provided by IOM, through its Sri Lanka country office, which continues to strengthen the development and implementation of Sri Lanka’s national policies on migration contributing to sustainable development and importantly, a rights-based approach to migration. 

In conclusion, I reiterate Sri Lanka’s commitment to working in cooperation with the IOM, as well as regional, and international stakeholders, for ensuring safe, orderly, regular, and rights-based migration beneficial for all. (Newswire)

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