INDIAN BOI COMPANY BRINGS WORKERS FROM INDIA TO SRI LANKA UNDER A JOB RACKET TO BE ENSLAVED
Posted on May 12th, 2012
By Walter Jayawardhana
The electrocution death occurred of an Indian worker in a private steel plant of a BOI company has revealed that workers are immigrated to work in this plant under tourist visas from India and they are working under modern day conditions of slavery.
A report published by the Hindu said: ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ After bringing him over to Sri Lanka ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-The rest of the procedure seems to have been incredibly easy: convert the visa into an employment visa with help from the Sri Lankan authorities, house him in a camp next to the work place, and pay him a fraction of what was promised. The condition of housing, too, is pathetic, and doesn’t meet any standards under labour laws of either countryƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚
ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-The death of an Indian worker at a private steel plant in Sri Lanka on Tuesday has exposed the callous manner in which workers are brought to the island-nation, and trapped in factories from which there is no escape,ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚the Hindu said..
The following is the full report: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-The death of an Indian worker at a private steel plant in Sri Lanka on Tuesday has exposed the callous manner in which workers are brought to the island-nation, and trapped in factories from which there is no escape.
A 29-year-old Odisha worker, Manas Kumar Mallick, of Jajpur’s Barapada village, who was working as an assistant fitter at Confab Steel Private Limited in Muddaragama in Gampaha district, was electrocuted in an accident classified as industrial.
The semi-skilled worker was brought to Sri Lanka in December last year. Confab Steel, a company set up by an Indian, employs 153 persons, of which 101 are Indian.
A sister concern of the company, Bhuwalka Steel Industries, which commenced operations much earlier ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚ in 1999 ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚ employs 300 persons, of which 200 are Indian.
Concessions
Both are Board of Investment companies, which means they enjoy certain concessions.
The modus operandi of bringing in a worker from India runs thus: get agents to recruit people from impoverished places, get a tourist visa for the worker, make him sign a contract in English ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚ a language he doesn’t understand ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚ and herd him into a vehicle once he reaches Colombo. How an impoverished worker gets past the radar of immigration with a tourist visa is a question that authorities in India will have to answer.
The rest of the procedure seems to have been incredibly easy: convert the visa into an employment visa with help from the Sri Lankan authorities, house him in a camp next to the work place, and pay him a fraction of what was promised. The condition of housing, too, is pathetic, and doesn’t meet any standards under labour laws of either country.
Mallick’s contract, which was seen by The Hindu , is a revelation: it wasn’t written on stamp paper; a plain white paper was used. The contract expressly says the company isn’t responsible for any losses suffered by the worker in the plant. There is a vague sentence which says the insurance will take care of any accident. No worker seemed to know which was the insurance company, what premium was paid or how much the compensation was.
After the Indian High Commission in Colombo intervened in the issue ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚ workers had preferred a complaint with it ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚ it was revealed that the compensation through insurance was LKR 3 lakh (2.5 LKR = 1 INR). High Commission officials told the owner of the company, an Indian, in no uncertain terms, that this wasn’t acceptable. The workers demanded a compensation of INR 15 lakh, and a final settlement was made at INR 5 lakh. The company has also assured the Indian High Commission that it would send the body home at its own cost, and also provide return air-tickets to Mallick’s two brothers, who are also employed in that company.
Under watch
Enquiries reveal that the company was under watch for at least the past 5 years. Even then, it has been able to bring in people with impunity, and with no fear of law, either in India or in Sri Lanka. In fact, the company has been placed in the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”prior approval’ category by the Protector General of Emigrants here, and also in India.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚
- They are brought to Sri Lanka and trapped in factories
- How a worker gets in with a tourist visa is a mystery
May 12th, 2012 at 3:51 pm
Sri Lanka has a large contingent of illegal migrants from Tamil Nadu mainly. If in addition to these people, Indian workers are brought in via tourist visas, paid low wages and live in bad conditions, then there is additional trouble in the offing. The tea estates workers are also in need of better housing and tea picking done with machines. It was/is always cheap labor that is the problem. Local labor ought to be used as much as possible instead of importing any foreign labor.
May 12th, 2012 at 5:05 pm
DEPORT ALL illegal immigrants NOW!
May 12th, 2012 at 6:09 pm
Immigration Authorities will now have to step in and check Visas of all Indian Employees, working at Confab Steel, and Bhuwalka Steel Industries. It will not be surprising that almost all Indian workers are ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. As Lorenzo says, DEPORT THE WHOLE LOT.
It would be interesting to probe all Indian based Industries right away. Probably, our Immigration Officers are also in cahoots with the Indians.
This clearly indicates that Illegal Indian Immigrants are coming in hordes, courtesy Sri Lanka Immigration Department. LETS OPEN THE CAN OF WORMS.
May 13th, 2012 at 3:36 am
Illegal Immigrants will increase this way & net cade or later another issue will occur, if we do not take proper/strict actions now itself.
Authorities with sharp heads must work for the benefit of the country, Not for their own selves.
May 13th, 2012 at 5:25 pm
Living next door to India, Sri Lanka authorities must be on high alert for this type of fraudulent entry. Do these workers ever go back ? What right have they to come to Lanka to work ? As such illegal worker numbers increase, the country is bound to suffer sooner or later, and we shall all pay a high price for this folly by our own authorities. If such workers are ‘let loose’ in Lanka after their assignment is completed, where do they end up ? An illegal migrant killed one of our farmers recently.
If such people entered the country on the easy to get Sri Lanka Tourist/Visitor Visa, and their visas are changed to Workers’ Visas in Lanka, then something is very wrong with Lanka laws re immigration. The public has the right to ask questions and insist on the law being changed so that the workers come in through the proper channels with Worker Visas from the country of origin & SL Embassy there, and are looked after in an acceptable manner in Lanka, with proper wages. In India or other country of origin, the Agreement to Work ought to be in a language that is understood by the worker with an attached English translation, for our authorities to understand the conditions along with written oath of undertaking to return to country of origin after completing work. All foreign Workers MUST return to their country of origin. Lanka authorities must limit the time period allowed here for such workers. A computerised system should follow the movements of these workers, where they live, etc. The number of such workers allowed into Lanka ought to be limited too.
Now that the Mannar route is closed, illegal migrants form India will look for new routes of entry into Lanka. It is with a sense of despair that we note how lax some Lanka authorities are, in spite of all the past problems this country has faced.
Work in Sri Lanka ought to be done by Sri Lankans. That would be the best for everyone concerned.
May 14th, 2012 at 9:29 am
IT APPEARS VERY EASY TO COME TO SRI LANKA ON A TOURIST VISA, AND THEN CONVERT IT TO A WORKING VISA. THE CONTROLLER OF IMMIGRATION IS TOTALLY RESPONSIBLE TO ANSWER, THE BASIS ON WHICH A TOURIST VISA CAN BE CONVERTED INTO A WORKING VISA. WHERE DOES THE MINISTER OF LABOUR COME INTO THIS SCENE ?
The Minister of Labour should question the Controller of Immigration, on whose authority he is doing all this JUGGLERY, of Tourist Visa being converted into a Working Visa. IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO KNOW, WHO IS COLLECTING BRIBES IN THE IMMIGRATION OFFICE, FOR OVER THE COUNTER WORKING VISAS. THERE HAS TO BE A CORRUPT POLITICIAN INVOLVED TOO.