Increase in number of Sri Lankan housemaids in Gulf
(Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash)
The number of workers leaving Sri Lanka to take up jobs as housemaids in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the Far East has soared by more than 16 percent in the past year.
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar were the main destinations in the Middle East for domestic employees coming from the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, with Japan and South Korea most popular in the Far East.
Figures for the areas highlighted show that a total of 64,965 people left Sri Lanka to work as housemaids in 2018, an increase from 55,884 the year before.
Madhava Deshapriya, deputy general manager for corporate communications at the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment, told Arab News on Friday that the upward trend is being put down to recruitment agencies making salary payments of up to 6,000 Saudi riyal ($1,600) to housemaids in advance of them leaving Sri Lanka for their new jobs abroad.
One Sri Lankan recruitment agent, Abdul Rahman, said new laws restricting working hours for women had encouraged maids to seek out better-paid jobs in other countries. It is estimated that there are 1.5 million Sri Lankans currently working in the Middle East.
(Source: Arab News)
Latest Headlines in Sri Lanka
- Senior Professor Rathnayake appointed to restore order at University of Ruhuna November 24, 2024
- Sri Lankan fishing vessel seized with massive drug haul in Maldives November 24, 2024
- Audit reveals misuse of electric vehicle permits for migrant workers in Sri Lanka November 23, 2024
- IMF approves third review: Sri Lanka secures $333 million tranche under EFF November 23, 2024
- Sri Lankan President urges accountability and unity for a better future November 23, 2024
