State intervention sought to prevent continuous exploitation of foreign employment seekers

Sri Lanka’s foreign employment industry calls for immediate state intervention to put an end to the continuous exploitation of the country’s foreign employment seekers by the so-called ‘GAMCA-accredited medical mafia’, backed by influential political forces.

Association of Licensed Foreign Employment Agencies (ALFEA) Secretary M.F.M. Arshad this week revealed that the GCC Approved Medical Centres Association (GAMCA) has arbitrarily doubled the medical examination fee imposed on foreign employment seekers to Rs.38,000 recently, from the earlier existed fee of Rs.18,000, without any approval.

“Charges for medical examinations have been arbitrarily doubled without any approval.  Workers are not allowed to go to the nearest medical centre at their discretion. Due to the current situation in the country, the workers are facing severe difficulties at a time when transport facilities are limited and fares have gone up,” he told reporters in Colombo.

To secure entry visa, it remains mandatory for all migrant workers seeking employment in the Middle Eastern countries to obtain a pre-departure medical certification from a medical centre approved by the Riyadh-based Gulf Health Council. The GAMCA has been administratively managing the 14 such medical centres in the country—nine medical centres in Colombo and five in Kurunegala.

Although there’s maximum limit of US $ 60 imposed on these medical tests by the Gulf Health Council, ALFEA President Faroos Marikkar noted that the GAMCA is overcharging Sri Lankan foreign employees by US $ 18 approximately, with the recent increase in charges.

The ALFEA estimates that the 14 GCC-approved medical centres have made Rs.1.2 billion in unfair gains over the past few months, with the recent hike in medical charges.

Further, Marikkar added that the medical centres also unduly benefit by charging US $ 10.5 fee to issue an automated confirmation of the medical test results of the applicants. Although a number of attempts were made to introduce a fair fee while bringing in these medical centres under a local regulatory framework, the ALFEA accused influential political forces of thwarting such efforts in the past.  As the same medical tests required by the GCC countries can be conducted at a fee of Rs.7500 in most reputed medical centres in the country, the ALFEA urged the government to take measures to allow other qualified medical centres, including the state hospitals, to conduct medical examinations required by the GCC countries.

Therefore, Marikkar urged the newly-appointed Labour and Foreign Employment Minister Manusha Nanayakkara along with the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment to make tough decisions to ensure a fair and affordable medical fee for foreign employment seekers, while assuring the accountability of medical centres backed by the local regulatory framework. The GCC countries accounted for 90 percent of Sri Lanka’s outward migrations over the past five years. (Nishel Fernando)