The Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Agency has announced an increase in the insurance compensation for Sri Lankan workers who die while employed overseas. Accordingly, the compensation has been raised to Rs. 2 million, Chairman of the Agency Kosala Wickramasinghe revealed at a media briefing held today (24).
He explained that previously, compensation stood at Rs. 600,000, and the new decision aims to provide greater financial support to the families of migrant workers.
Meanwhile, Mr. Wickramasinghe also announced the launch of a special loan scheme enabling the spouses of overseas workers to start small businesses. In addition, the scholarship allowance for children of foreign employees will be increased, and laptops will be provided to those pursuing higher education.
Highlighting the economic contribution of migrant workers, he noted that Sri Lanka had received US$ 5.1 billion in remittances in August alone, and the figure is expected to reach US$ 7.2 billion by the end of this year.
Currently, 226,240 Sri Lankans are employed abroad, a number projected to rise to nearly 300,000 by the end of the year, he added.
