Sri Lanka is set to launch a digital program allowing migrant workers to report concerns while employed abroad, according to Minister of Labor and Foreign Employment, Manusha Nanayakkara.
The new initiative will be accessible via smartphones, enabling domestic workers to report issues such as unpaid salaries or any other problems they encounter. This development was announced by Nanayakkara during a parliamentary session on Tuesday.
The program comes in response to the challenges faced by Sri Lankan workers abroad, including reported abuse, with 301,000 domestic workers and 360,000 skilled workers currently employed overseas.
Minister Nanayakkara noted that the government receives only a minimal fraction of complaints related to abuse—0.001 percent. “We can only act on complaints that are officially reported. We are working to educate workers on how to escalate their complaints through the Foreign Employment Bureau,” he added.