By: Staff Writer
November 17, Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka’s much-touted commitment to protecting migrant workers, long hailed as the backbone of the nation’s economy, has come under severe criticism as the 2026 Budget exposes a series of broken promises, misleading allocations, and new restrictions that directly burden the country’s 2.3 million overseas workers.
The government announced with fanfare that it would introduce a pension scheme for migrant workers.
However, the Budget allocates only Rs. 2 billion for this programme. With 1.8 million officially registered migrant workers and another estimated 500,000 unregistered, the math reveals a harsh truth.
Even ignoring the unregistered group, dividing Rs. 2 billion among 1.8 million workers amounts to just Rs. 1,100 per person. Critics ask what meaningful pension benefit can possibly be offered with such a meagre allocation.
Observers note that in Sri Lanka’s 76-year post-independence history, no government has misled migrant workers in such a blatant manner. Previously, authorities promised that migrant workers would be granted voting rights through Sri Lankan embassies in their host countries.
But the new Budget appears to have quietly abandoned this pledge, raising accusations that migrant workers are being used merely as political props.
The administration’s own election manifesto pledged strong state intervention to resolve wage disparities and hardships faced by overseas workers. Yet, just one year later, that promise appears forgotten.
The latest Budget makes no mention of any plan to address severe wage issues, exploitation, or unfair treatment conditions that thousands of Sri Lankan domestic workers attached to embassies abroad reportedly continue to face without any formal mechanism for redress.
Adding to the frustration, while the Budget claims to expand tax concessions for migrant workers, the Customs Department under the authority of the President has issued a new circular banning migrant workers from bringing back commonly used household electronics such as televisions, washing machines, refrigerators, and basic kitchen appliances.
These items, often accumulated after years of hardship, are among the few rewards migrant workers look forward to taking home.
This restriction disproportionately impacts Sri Lankans working in the Middle East, who often endure extreme conditions for years to support their families. For many, returning home with the appliances they used abroad is a symbolic milestone of their sacrifice and financial struggle.
Some employers even gift these appliances to workers out of appreciation. Now, under the new regulation, not a single such item can be brought into the country.
Critics argue that instead of supporting migrant workers, the government is “suffocating them without killing them.” They warn that while previous administrations including that of President Ranil Wickremesinghe granted even vehicle import permits for high remittance earners, the current government has reversed course, offering nothing but hollow pledges.
Ultimately, the 2026 Budget has sparked outrage among migrant workers and advocacy groups, who say it drags overseas workers from the frying pan straight into the fire—turning hope into betrayal, and promises into pain.
