Minister: Lebanon Excluded From Ban on Sri Lanka Workers

Sri Lanka's Labor Minister Dylan Pereira said Wednesday that there will be no ban on the travel of female domestic workers and laborers to Lebanon following banning their travel to Saudi Arabia.

“There will be no ban on the travel of female domestic workers and laborers to Lebanon,” the minister assured after meeting Lebanon's Labor Minister Salim Jreisati where talks focused on drafting a new agreement that will soon be signed regarding Sri Lankan labor rights.

Pereira added: “We are working to improve their experience and raise the age of those eligible to travel abroad for work from the age of 21 to the age of 23. They will also be trained to speak English and Arabic for better communication with their employers.”

On his part, Jreisati stressed “decent work and fair pay for domestic service workers. We are in the process of developing a code of ethical conduct for workers.”

Sri Lanka decided to ban female workers under the age of 25 from going to Saudi Arabia to work as housemaids following the beheading of a Sri Lankan teen who was convicted of killing her employers' son in 2005.

Rizana Nafeek was 17 when a baby she was caring for in Saudi Arabia died. The family said she strangled the 4-month-old boy after being asked to bottle-feed him, but Nafeek said the infant accidentally choked on milk.