Dr Sarath Obeysekera

Sri Lanka must study history carefully before opening the doors widely for inbound labour migration without proper controls, registration, monitoring and sector-specific policies.

During the British colonial era, Indian Tamil estate workers were brought mainly from South India to work in plantations because local labour was either unavailable or unwilling to work under harsh estate conditions. Over time, these workers became an inseparable and valuable part of Sri Lanka’s plantation economy and society. Today the tea industry survives largely because of the descendants of those workers. That migration eventually benefited the country economically, although it also created decades of social and political complications.

But today’s situation is entirely different.

The present proposal to allow foreign labour into Sri Lanka raises serious questions:

• Which sectors genuinely require foreign workers?
• What skill categories are lacking locally?
• Who monitors visas and employment conditions?
• How many workers are already operating informally?
• Are security agencies properly screening entrants?
• What mechanisms exist to prevent cybercrime, illegal businesses or undocumented employment?

Recent reports about increasing numbers of foreign nationals working in restaurants, hotels, warehouses and other sectors have raised public concern. In many places, local residents themselves observe that some foreigners appear highly educated and technologically skilled, yet are officially categorized under low-skilled employment.

There are also increasing global concerns regarding cybercrime centres operating across parts of Asia using foreign labour networks. Sri Lanka must therefore be extremely cautious not to become a soft operational base due to weak enforcement or corruption.

At the same time, industries such as construction, agriculture, logistics and processing may genuinely face labour shortages because many Sri Lankans themselves migrate overseas seeking better salaries. Some employers argue that foreign workers are willing to perform difficult manual work which locals increasingly avoid. This economic reality cannot be ignored either.

Therefore the answer is not emotional politics or xenophobia. The answer is regulation, transparency and national planning.

Sri Lanka should consider:

• Strict work permit categories linked to verified industries
• Mandatory police registration and biometric monitoring
• Periodic employer audits
• Language and legal orientation requirements
• Limits on concentrations of workers in residential areas
• Strong cybercrime and immigration surveillance
• Priority employment for Sri Lankan workers where possible
• Sector-by-sector approval instead of open-ended migration

Countries like Singapore and the Gulf States allow foreign labour under highly controlled systems. Sri Lanka unfortunately has weak enforcement institutions, making uncontrolled inflows potentially risky both socially and economically.

A nation that cannot properly manage its own labour market should be very careful before experimenting with large-scale inbound migration policies.

Regards

Dr Sarath Obeysekera