No SLBFE nod for maids to Jordan

Shirley Wijesinghe

The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) will discourage Sri Lankans being sent to Jordan as housemaids, Additional General Manager LK Ruhunage told the Daily News yesterday.

The Bureau arrived at this decision after being informed of a number of instances where housemaids were paid wages below US $ 200, he added. "The SLBFE will not grant permission to housemaids leave for Jordan if their salaries are less than US $ 200," Ruhunage said.

He said most Foreign Employment Agencies are trying to recruit housemaids promising them higher salaries in Jordan. “However the maximum the housemaids are paid is US $150,” Ruhunage said.

He urged housemaids seeking employment in Jordan not to fall to employment agencies traps. There are over 40,000 Sri Lankans employed in Jordan and among 25,000 are housemaids, he said.