Promoting decent work through good governance, protection and empowerment of migrant workers: Ensuring the effective implementation of the Sri Lanka National Labour Migration Policy

This project is entitled "Promoting decent work through good governance, protection and empowerment of migrant workers: Ensuring the effective implementation of the Sri Lanka National Labour Migration Policy". It is a two year initiative aimed at supporting the commitments and undertakings of the national policy. The overall objective of the project is to contribute to the sustainable economic and social development of Sri Lanka by promoting decent and productive employment opportunities for women and men while safeguarding the rights, freedoms, security and dignity of migrant workers and their families. The project is guided by the provision of the national policy and seeks to support Sri Lankan stakeholders in its effective implementation. The project will focus on three strategic areas. These are inter linked issues that contribute to improving the situation of the migrant labour force and the migration process by addressing gaps, strengthening policy frameworks and setting in place processes for implementation, regulation and accountability. Implementation of the proposed project will be participatory and inclusive of all stakeholders in the process. ILO will maximize its strategic relationships with all stakeholders to ensure a consultative and participatory implementation process that will be owned by all stakeholders. This initiative involving national stakeholders is anchored on the key principles of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO’s) Multilateral Framework on Labour Migration, the United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination (CEDAW) and other international instruments which underscore the importance of migration in an overall programme of decent work and development and reaffirm the importance of migrant workers’ protection in the overall migration programme strategy. The direct beneficiaries of the project are policy level government officials in the Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion & Welfare and SLBFE. These officials will include those responsible for policy-making and monitoring its implementation in the Ministry and officials responsible for programme planning and implementation in the SLBFE and consular officers and labour attaches in countries where Sri Lankan workers are employed. The project intends, through coaching, training, collaboration, networking and exposure programmes, to build the capacity of different stakeholders to plan, innovate and implement various policies and programmes for migrants and their families. The project will accord high priority to working with ILO’s tripartite constituency: government institutions, employers and trade unions. The Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion & Welfare and SLBFE are key institutions in the project management and implementation. The implementation of the project activities will be carried out under the guidance of Advisory Committee on Labour Migration. The project will also involve civil society organizations and migrant associations on awareness raising and empowerment, community-level empowerment, training and information services for aspiring and returning migrant workers, with special attention to women migrants. The project will also explore avenues for collaboration and aim to build partnerships with other development agencies to expand the scope of various project activities.

Project symbol

SRL/10/08/SDC

Admin unit

CO-Colombo

Start date

01/11/2010

End date

15/03/2013

Total allocation

690639

Total expenditure

Status

Closed

690639

Development Partners

Switzerland, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation

Country/Countries

Sri Lanka

Outcomes

Labour Migration