The Hon. Arun Hemachandra
Hon. Arun Hemachandra stated that while the SLBFE receives about 3,000 complaints annually from migrant workers, fewer than 150 concern violence against female domestic workers. He outlined the procedures for handling such complaints under Sections 44, 65 and 66, including coordination with licensed agencies, missions and foreign employers, diplomatic intervention where needed, and referral of unregistered self-migrant cases to the Consular Affairs Division. He also said fraud cases are prosecuted under Section 64(a) for licensees and Section 64(b) for unlicensed actors, with money recovery first attempted through SLBFE-mediated settlement and then through Magistrate’s Court orders if necessary.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 On mistreatment of migrant workers: only a limited number of female domestic workers face inhuman treatment. The SLBFE Conciliation Division receives about 3,000 complaints annually; fewer than 150 relate to violence.
¶ 02 Action is taken under Sections 44, 65 and 66 of the Act. Where the worker migrated through a licensed agency, that agency, the complainant, the mission and the foreign agent/employer coordinate to resolve the issue; prosecutions are filed as needed. If unresolved, missions intervene diplomatically. For self-migrants not registered with SLBFE, direct intervention is limited; such complaints are referred to the Consular Affairs Division.
¶ 03 On fraudsters: prosecutions are filed against licensees under Section 64(a), and against unlicensed entities/individuals under Section 64(b). Money recovery is pursued first through mediated settlement at SLBFE investigations; failing that, via Magistrate’s Court orders.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Thursday, 20 February 2025 ·No. 1740657427093848 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Arun Hemachandra. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 20 February 2025. No. 1740657427093848. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/16366