MOU with Jordan
February Newsletter
Report of Congress of Migrant Workers Associations

Under Act no.21 of 1985 The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment provides for Registration of Sri Lankans who go overseas for employment and return. According to statistics of The Bureau of Foreign employment a total of nearly 785,000 Sri Lankan workers live outside the country. Their names continue to appear in our Electoral Registers. These migrant workers represent a significant number of voters out of the total voting population of this country. They have no access to the electoral process. It is not only a denial of their fundamental political rights - that of participating in selecting their representatives to the elected assemblies at different levels of the political system -it also signifies their inability to place their needs through their elected representatives. We made Representations to the Commissioner of Elections. The Minister of Labour and other relevant authorities like Human Rights Commission during the last General Elections. We made representations to HE The President during the last Referendum which was cancelled. We made further representations to Political Authorities during the December 5th General Election to no purpose. We are encouraging Migrant Returnees to participate at local elections scheduled for 20th March 2002. A total of 26312 candidates are on the field for 4374 seats in 18 Municipalities, 37 Urban Councils and 256 Pradeshiya Sabhas. We are supporting an All Female Non Political Women's Group which includes Lawyers, Academics Youth and Returnee Migrants contesting for the Colombo Municipality. We wish to carry the message of advocating Voting Rights to Migrant Workers serving overseas
with all stakeholders engaged in the enterprise of migration.

  

WHAT WE DO AT MIGRANT SERVICES CENTRE
10, COUNCIL LANE, DEHIWELA.

WHO WE ARE
We are the service arm of the National Workers Congress / ACFFTU, Sri Lanka. Our mission is to organize Migrant Workers of Sri Lanka including Prospective Migrants and Returnee Migrants. The National Workers Congress has opened its membership to Migrant Workers and set up a Migrant Branch to service needs of this group.

WHAT WE DO?
We offer free pre departure training, and awareness building for migrants leaving the country. We assist returnee migrants in their reintegration within the community. We encourage savings and self-employment programmes for migrant workers and work closely with Banks, other Trade Unions, NGO’s groups and CBO’s, INGOs. We organise Training Programmes for migrant activists, leaders and families of Migrant Workers. .

FOR WHOM?
We undertake Mobilisation of migrants and their family members through Migrant Workers Associations, set up Island wide at grassroots level. We undertake participatory  Action Research in Migrant Households and undertake case studies on migrant problems. Migrant Workers Association’s of returned Garment Factory Workers are now being formed

WHEN?
We commemorate International events of significance to migrants annually like
Women’s Day (March 8th, ), May Day (May 1st), World Aids Day (Dec 1st), International Human Rights Day (10th December). International Migrants Day (18th December),

HOW?
We release our Publications-Sri Lanka Migrant Monthly Newsletter,. We maintain a Hotline on 4 203768 and we can be reached during working hours. We also offer free telephone facilities to local families of migrants in distress in the overseas.

We organize & train groups to communicate with prospective migrants at village level on avoiding pitfalls of migration and on successful reintegration. We intervene in settlement of grievances of Migrant Workers and premature migrant failures.

  • We undertake a strong HIV /AIDS Programme for Prevention and Care of Migrant Workers and mobile populations.
  • We campaign for Social Political Economic and Health Rights of Migrants to bring in changes to the law in keeping with provisions on UN Convention 1990 ratified by Sri Lanka in 1996 and now in force since July 2003. We campaign in particular on treatment of Domestic Work as work; Absentee Voting Rights for Sri Lankan Migrant Workers abroad and for Social Security Rights of Migrant Workers. .

How to contact us
We are at
 No.10, Council Lane, Dehiwala.
Our Director G.David De Soysa, Can be met during working hours or you may call us on

Telephone No: 4803768
Fax No: 2713604
Email : migrant@eureka.lk
Our Website : www.eureka.lk/migrant