By NNN-Govt Portal
Colombo : Sri Lanka will be sending 100,000 persons for employment in Qatar following an agreement reached during the talks between Qatar’s Minister of Labour Dr. Sultan Al Dawsary and Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Employment and Welfare Development Keheliya Rambukwella.
This will boost the number of Sri Lankan employed in Qatar to 230,000. The employment opportunities will be open for skilled workers in the construction field and artisans, according to ministry sources.
During his talks, Minister Rambukwella emphasised the need for Qatar to implement a systematic insurance scheme for Sri Lankan workers to cover them during working as well as off duty hours and the Qatar Labour Minister agreed to look into the matter.
Meanwhile the Qatari Labour Minister disclosed that the service agreement introduced by the Qatar Government would be applied to Sri Lankan workers as well. Steps would be taken by the Qatar Government to educate Qatar employers on the stipulations on worker rights and responsibilities laid down in the service agreement.
Last year 38,000 migrant workers went to Qatar and out of them 34,000 were trained and skilled male workers. The 4,000 others were housemaids.