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Lankans jump ship as a bankrupt nation struggles
By Amal JAYASINGHE
The snaking queues for food and fuel that crisscrossed Sri Lanka last year have given way to a different kind of line — people scrambling for travel documents to flee their bankrupt island.
“What we see as normalcy is a mirage,” customer care executive Gayan Jayewardena, 43, told AFP while queueing at a government office for a passport for his baby daughter.
“The situation is not getting better,” said Jayewardena, whose wife and two older daughters already have their papers.
“When we consider it from the point of our children, it is better to leave. We want to migrate to a country like New Zealand.”
The South Asian nation’s 22 million people suffered desperate shortages of essentials in 2022 after the government ran out of dollars to finance imports, including life-saving medicines.Months of protests led to the storming of then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s palace on July 9 last year.
His successor Ranil Wickremesinghe doubled taxes and cut subsidies, two highly unpopular moves.The new government may have restored supplies, but at sometimes three times the previous price.
Wickremesinghe secured a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund in March and expects a recovery next year, but many in the country are not so optimistic.Software engineer Maduranga, 38, who uses one name, said the high living costs and taxes prompted him to consider migrating to Australia.
“The cost is going high, every day it is going higher, but the salary amount is the same”, Maduranga said. “Companies are not increasing the salaries, so that’s why we are trying to leave.”
At the foreign employment bureau, where Sri Lankans must register before taking up jobs abroad, numbers surged from 122,000 in 2021 to a record 311,000 last year.
For the first five months of this year, the bureau recorded around 122,000 people leaving — the same as in all of 2021 — but officials believe many others also left on tourist visas to seek work in the Middle East and elsewhere in Asia.
Last year, the number of people applying for passports more than doubled — from over 382,500 in 2021, when the economy grew by 3.3 percent, to a record 911,689 passports in 2022, when the economy contracted 7.8 percent.
The trend has continued.
This year through May, 433,000 overseas travel documents have been issued, according to the Immigration and Emigration Department.An online system was launched in June to cope with the swelling demand, but those urgently seeking passports must apply in person.
“My number was 976 and I think after me there would have been about 500 people,” said Damitha Hitihamu, 51, after handing in his papers to renew his passport in a day.
“I never expected to see such a crowd for the one-day service.”
Sri Lanka has been a labour exporter for decades, providing both skilled and unskilled workers, especially to Gulf states.
But the impact of the brain drain is increasingly being felt.Newspapers are awash with reports of shortages of doctors, nurses, engineers and other skilled workers because so many have left.Sri Lanka’s construction industry, one of the biggest employers, is reporting losing skilled workers and professionals at an alarming rate.
“There is large-scale migration of construction workers,” said Nissanka Wijeratne, secretary-general of the Chamber of Construction Industry.
Wijeratne said losses were “at all levels” but that it was “worse in the professional categories”.Around 200,000 jobs were cut in construction during the recession coupled with hyperinflation last year — and many of those still working are looking to leave.
“When I checked with one consultancy company, they used to have 70 professionals in that office,” Wijeratne said. “Now it has reduced to 15.”
Insurance professional Lalantha Perera, 43, said his salary was not enough to support his wife and two children.
“After the protest campaign last year, we got some relief,” he said. “But that is not enough and I am planning to go to a European country.”
The economic think tank Advocata Institute says middle-class workers are seeking employment abroad to escape poverty at home.
“Amongst the poorest people, they have cut down their meals,” said Advocata head Dhananath Fernando.
“The middle classes — those who can afford — are attempting to migrate.”
The U.S. Embassy in Colombo welcomed the U.S. Sports Envoys to Sri Lanka, former National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) players Stephen Howard and Astou Ndiaye, from June 8 through 14.
The Public Diplomacy section of the U.S. Embassy said that it would launch a weeklong basketball program intended to harness the unifying power of sports, made possible through collaboration with Foundation of Goodness and IImpact Hoop Lab.
While in Sri Lanka, Howard and Ndiaye, both retired professional basketball players, will conduct a weeklong program, Hoops for Hope: Bridging Borders through Basketball. The Sports Envoys will lead basketball clinics and exhibition matches and engage in leadership sessions in Colombo and Southern Province for youth aged 14-18 from Northern, Uva, Eastern and Western Provinces, offering skills and leadership training both on and off the court. The U.S. Envoys will also share their expertise with the Sri Lanka Basketball Federation, national coaches, and players, furthering the development of basketball in the country. Beyond the clinics, they will collaborate with Sri Lankan schoolchildren to take part in a community service project in the Colombo area.
“We are so proud to welcome Stephen and Astou as our Sports Envoys to Sri Lanka, to build on the strong people-to-people connections between the United States and Sri Lanka,” said U.S. Ambassador Julie Chung. “The lessons that will be shared by our Sports Envoys – communication, teamwork, resilience, inclusion, and conflict resolution – are essential for leadership development, community building, equality, and peace. The U.S. Sports Envoy program is a testament to our belief that sports can be a powerful tool in promoting peace and unity.”
SJB Colombo District MP Mujibur Rahuman in parliament demanded to know from the government the reasons for CEB suspending the leave of all its employees until further notice from Thursday.
MP Rahuman said that the CEB has got an acting General Manager anew and the latter yesterday morning issued a circular suspending leave of all CEB employees with immediate effect until further notice.
“We demand that Minister Kanchana Wijesekera should explain this to the House. This circular was issued while this debate on the new Electricity Amendment Bill was pending. There are many who oppose this Bill. The Minister must tell parliament the reason for the urge to cancel the leave of CEB employees,” the MP said.However, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena prevented Minister Wijesekera responding to the query and said that the matter raised by MP Rahuman was not relevant.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) successfully concluded the 8th Annual CIPM Symposium, which took place on 31st May 2024. Themed “Nurturing the Human Element—Redefining HRM in a Rapidly Changing World,” the symposium underscored the pivotal role of human resource management (HRM) in today’s dynamic global landscape. Since its inception in 1959, CIPM has been dedicated to advancing the HR profession through education, professional development, and advocacy, solidifying its position as Sri Lanka’s leading professional body for HRM.
Ken Vijayakumar, the President of the CIPM, graced the occasion as the chief guest. The symposium commenced with the welcome address by the Chairperson, Prof. Arosha Adikaram, followed by the Web Launch of the Symposium Proceedings and Abstract Book by the CIPM President. The event featured distinguished addresses, including a speech by Chief Guest Ken Vijayakumar, President of CIPM, and an address by Guest of Honor Shakthi Ranatunga, Chief Operating Officer of MAS Holdings Pvt. Ltd., Sri Lanka.
The symposium also featured an inspiring keynote address by Prof. Mario Fernando, Professor of Management and Director of the Centre for Cross Cultural Management (CCCM) at the University of Wollongong, Australia.
Vote of Thanks of the inauguration session was delivered by Dr. Dillanjani Weeratunga, Symposium Co-chair.
The symposium served as a comprehensive platform for researchers to present their findings across a wide range of critical topics in HRM. These included Cultural Diversity and Inclusion, Talent Development and Retention, Ethical Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility, Adapting to Technological Advancements, Mental Health and Well-being at Work, Global Workforce Challenges, Employee Empowerment, and Reskilling and Upskilling.
The plenary session was led by Prof. Wasantha Rajapakse. Certificates were awarded to the best paper presenters during the valedictory session, followed by a vote of thanks delivered by Kamani Perera, Manager of Research and Development.
The annual symposium of CIPM was a truly inclusive event, attracting a diverse audience that spanned undergraduates, graduates, working professionals, research scholars and lecturers. This widespread interest highlights the symposium’s significance in the field of HRM, offering a unique opportunity for everyone to network and learn from scholarly brains.The CIPM International Research Symposium was sponsored by Hambantota International Port, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), E B Creasy & Co. PLC, and Print Xcel Company.
US sports envoys to Lanka to champion youth development
Rahuman questions sudden cancellation of leave of CEB employees
