Govt. should be cautious when opening door to Indian IT professionals: CSSL

Sounding a note of caution, the Computer Society of Sri Lanka (CSSL), said the government should discuss with all local industry stakeholders and exercise prudence in opening the door to Indianbased Information and Communication Technology (ICT) professionals in terms of the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). CEPA was a standard agreement complying with the WTO (World Trade Organization) General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) for member countries, which has now morphed into the Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement (ETCA). At a recent media conference convened at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI), President of CSSL, Dr. Dayan Rajapakse, warned that signing the proposed agreement without fully understanding its implications would have a detrimental effect on Sri Lanka’s national interests. Associated with him at the news briefing were Yasas Abeywickrama, Vice President. CSSL, Prabath Wickremaratne, Secretary, Chrisantha Silva, Treasurer, Damith Hettihewa, Assistant Secretary, Samantha Thelijjagoda, Assistant Treasurer, Dr. Ajantha Atukorale, Student Counsellor and Nishan Sembacuttiaratchy, Publications Secretary. Elaborating on the current developments in the ICT sector, Dr. Dayan Rajapakse told the media conference “Our Society is an independent professional body. We don’t have any political party affiliations either directly or indirectly. We are a neutral organization representing local IT professionals. This media briefing was convened to express our views in the backdrop of ongoing preparations by the Sri Lankan government to bring down ICT professionals from India. Opening the door to Indian IT professionals on a minimum salary structure without a process of due diligence and evaluation will be inimical to the interests of Sri Lanka’s IT industry, the country and society at large, Dr. Dayan Rajapakse warned. He highlighted six critical factors that needs immediate attention to ensure that there are no negative ramifications

• As Sri Lanka does not have an effective framework for the recognition of professionals, can it be ensured that properly qualified people would come with documented and verifiable qualifications and skills?
• As India is a country with an unemployable population of more than 50 million (more than two-fold of Sri Lanka’s population), how can the government assure that these persons will not freely flow into the country?
• What is the mechanism in place in relevance to the immigration and work permit allocation process to ensure that migrant workers will return to India after their employment contracts are terminated?
• Sri Lanka will be faced with the imminent danger of witnessing a further aggravation of brain-drain.
• „Sri Lankan software solutions have been accepted the world over. In the backdrop of Indian IT professionals being allowed to play a role here under the proposed agreement, is there a system in place to ensure that our position is not compromised?
• After our IT students graduate from government and private universities, what are the job prospects they can look forward to when they have to compete with Indians in their own country?

We believe that these are valid concerns that need to be effectively addressed to preserve the present socioeconomic status. As a way to further develop the industry and to ensure there are no negative ramifications, the Computer Society of Sri Lanka makes the following recommendations:

• Seek the views and proposals of all industry stakeholders such as the relevant professional associations and organizations, evaluate the feedback and act with caution in signing this agreement.
• „The Indian IT professionals should be granted permission to work in Sri Lanka only after they are assessed via an internationally recognized skills certification framework available with the CSSL which is the SFIA framework. This will ensure that only people with the right skills and capabilities are recruited.
• „A minimum annual salary should be defined for foreigners who seek employment in Sri Lanka to ensure that the status quo is not affected as a result of an impact on the employability of entry level local IT professionals.
• Immigration controls should be strengthened and enhanced to keep track of professionals who enter Sri Lanka and ensure that they leave the country when their contract is over

These recommendations have been made with the hope of converting this into a win-win situation. The government should not rush into this agreement. There should be adequate time and space to study it in depth so that Sri Lanka could accrue benefits for the further development of the IT industry. We welcome a healthy dialogue and, as an independent, non-political body, we are willing to do our part to ensure that a positive outscome can be achieved for all stakeholders.