SriLankanMigrationtotheGulf:FemaleBreadwinners

DomesticWorkers
ByMicheleRuthGamburd|ProfessorofAnthropologyPortlandStateUniversity | Feb02,2010

SeveralwavesofSriLankanmigrationhavetakenplace
sincethecountrygainedindependencein1948.
Beginninginthemid1950s,wealthy,educated,English
speakingeliteshavemigratedtoCommonwealth
countriessuchasAustraliaandtheUnitedKingdom.In
addition,sincetheupsurgeinethnichostilitiesintheearly
1980s,TamilspeakingHindumigrantshaveleftthe
country,withmanysettlinginCanada.Incontrastwith
thesepermanentmigrants,since1976agrowingnumber
ofSriLankanshavebecomemigrantworkers.Theleadingdestinationforthismigrantlaborforce
themajorityofwhomarewomenhasbeentheGulf.

TheScaleandCompositionofSriLankanLaborMigrants

In2003,theSriLankanBureauofForeignEmployment(SLBFE),themainadministrativebody
[1]

regulatinglabormigration,estimatedthat1,003,600SriLankansworkedabroad. By2008,this
numberhadincreasedto1,792,368,or9%oftheislands20millionpeople.Fromthelate1980s
untilasrecentlyas2007,womenmadeupthemajorityoftheselabormigrants.Theyaccountedfor
75%ofthemigrantflowinthemid1990s,andby2008declinedtoalittleunder50%.Ofthemigrant
[2]

women,88%wenttoworkashousemaids. InmuchoftheglobalNorth,suchmigranttransnational
domesticworkersmeettheneedsoftheglobalcaredeficit,reflectingaglobaltrendinoutsourcing
domesticlabortowomenfromlessdevelopedcountries.Incontrast,transnationaldomesticservants
intheMiddleEastfreetheirsponsorsforleisure,supportingasociallysignificantlifestyle.
Inrecentyears,SriLankanofficialshaveactivelyencouragedmalemigration.Themaleguest
workersfillmorediverseroles,withskilledandunskilledlaborersmakinguproughlyequal
percentagesofthemalemigrants(42%and41%respectivelyin2008).

MainDestinationCountries

MostSriLankanmigrants(92%),bothmaleandfemale,journeytotheGulf,withfourcountries
(SaudiArabia,theUAE,Kuwait,andQatar)absorbingover80%ofSriLankasworkers.IntheGulf,
SriLankanwomensharethemarketformigrantdomesticworkerswithwomenfromIndonesia,the
Philippines,andseveralothercountries.Racial,ethnic,religious,andnationalstereotypes
predeterminewages.Forexample,intheUAEin2004,housemaidsfromthePhilippineswerepaid
morethanthosefromIndonesia,SriLanka,Ethiopia,andBangladesh,inthatorder.

[3]

[L]aborlawscovermalelaborersbutdonotprotect
householdworkers.

householdworkers.
MostSriLankanhousemaidsgoabroadontwoyearcontractsandliveintheiremployers
residences.Liveinhousemaidshavelessautonomyandlowersalariesthanwomenwithparttime
orliveoutarrangements.Theisolationoftheworksituationcanleadtoabuseandexploitation.
Domesticworkerslegalprotectionsvaryfromcountrytocountry.InmanyGulfCooperationCouncil
[4]

(GCC)countries,laborlawscovermalelaborersbutdonotprotecthouseholdworkers. Labor
regulationsdoapplytoforeigndomesticservantsworkinginotherareasinAsia,theEuropean
Union,andtheUnitedStates,butmaynotbeenforcedagainstmiddleandupperclassemployers.

[5]

SriLankanSojournersasTemporaryMigrantsintheGulf

GuestworkersformacrucialaspectoflocaleconomiesintheGulf.Overall,foreignersmakeupan
estimated3743%ofthepopulationoftheGCCcountriesandconstitute70%oftheworkforce,with
workforcenumbersrisingsignificantlyhigherintheUAE(90%),Kuwait(82%),andQatar(90%).
[6]

MostGCCcountrieshaveadefactodualeconomy,withwellpaid,nonstrenuouspublicsector

jobscreatedfornationalsandpoorlypaid,difficult,lowstatus,privatesectorjobsperformedby
foreigners.
Thehighpercentageofguestworkersworriesgovernmentofficials.Accordingly,governmentshave
legislatedtominimizetheperceivedthreat.Restrictionsonlengthofstay,strictregulationsabout
changingjobs,hurdlesimposedbythesponsorshipsystem,difficulttomeetcriteriaforbringingin
familymembers,theinabilitytoownlandandbusinesses,thenearimpossibilityofobtaining
citizenship,andtheabsenceoflegalrightsallworktokeepguestworkersstaysshort,temporary,or
[7]

informal. AlthoughSriLankansmigratetoAustralia,Canada,andtheUKwithplanstosettlethere,
mostsojournersintheGulfdonothopetoassimilatepermanentlyintothehostcountry.

IncentivesforSriLankanTransnationalDomesticMigrants

TherearebothnationallevelandfamilylevelincentivesforSriLankanstomigrate.Onthenational
level,migrantlaborersremittancescontributesignificantlytoSriLankasforeignexchangeearnings.
In2008,totalremittancesstoodatSLR316,118million,orroughly$2.87billion(convertedat$1=
SLR110).Nearly60%ofthistotal,SLR189,039millionor$1.72billion,camefromtheGulf.In
generatingforeignearnings,privateremittances(36%)comesecondafterSriLankaslargegarment
industry(40%).Clearlythecountryhasagreatfinancialstakeintheremittancesgeneratedby
migrantlaborers,particularlythoseworkingintheGulf.
MigrationalleviatesunemploymentamongthepoorersegmentsofSriLankaspopulation.Locally
availablejobsaremostlypoorlypaidandtemporary,particularlyforwomen.Althoughtransnational
domesticworkersearnonlyanaverageof$100amonthwhileabroad,thisisbetweentwoandfive
timeswhatwomencouldearnworkinginSriLanka,andequalsorexceedsthewagesearnedby
mostvillagemen.Migrantwomenconsistentlyassertthatfamiliescannotmakeendsmeetontheir
husbandssalaries,andsaythatmigrationtotheMiddleEastistheironlyavailableeconomic

alternative.Familymotivesformigrationusuallyincludegettingoutofdebt,buyingland,andbuilding
ahouse.Womenalsostatethattheywouldliketosupporttheirfamilysdailyconsumptionneeds,
educatetheirchildren,andprovidedowriesforthemselvesortheirdaughters.Participantsinthe
decisionmakingprocess(undergonerepeatedlyformigrantswhoreturnseveraltimestotheGulf)
weighfinancialnecessityandhouseholdimprovementsagainstseparation,incursionofloans,and
alternatearrangementsforchildcare.
Migrantwomenoftenbecomethesoleormostsignificantbreadwinnersfortheirfamilies.Several
studiessuggestthateachmigrantwomansupportsfourtofivemembersofherfamilyfiguresfor
[8]

migrantmenarelikelysimilar. In2003,theSLBFEestimatedthatmigrantlaborersmadeup14%of
thetotalnumberofemployedSriLankans.By2008,thisfigurehadjumpedto25%.Asignificantand
growingpercentageofSriLankanfamiliesarethusdirectlydependentonGulfremittances.

Conclusion

LabormigrationtotheGulfhasbecomeacorefeatureofSriLankanseconomicstrategiesatthe
familyandnationallevels.Migrationislikelytocontinueinthefuture.Trendswilldependupon
severalfactors:SriLankassuccessindiversifyingitsmigrantsdestinationcountriesitseconomic
growthandthelocalavailabilityofdesirablejobsanditscontinuedcapacitytosendcareworkers
abroadwhiletendingtoanagingpopulationathome.

[1].StatisticalinformationinthisarticlecomesfromtheSriLankanBureauofForeignEmployments
Annual Statistical Report of Foreign Employment 2008, which can be found online at
http://slbfe.lk/downloads/AnnualStatisticalReport2008SLBFE.pdf.

[2]. In Sri Lanka, domestic servants are often referred to as housemaids in both English and
Sinhala.Thesemigrantwomensdutiesoftenexceedthenarrowtechnicallimitsoftheterm.

[3]. Michele Gamburd, Advocating for Sri Lankan Migrant Workers: Obstacles and Challenges,
CriticalAsianStudies,Vol.41,No.1(2009),p.70.

[4]. Regarding Saudi Arabia, see Graeme Hugo, Indonesian International Domestic Workers:
Contemporary Developments and Issues, in Shirlena Huang, Brenda S.A. Yeoh, and Noor Abdul
Rahman,eds., Asian Women as Transnational Domestic Workers (Singapore: Marshall Cavendish,
2005),p.83regardingtheUAE,seeGamburd,AdvocatingforSriLankanMigrantWorkers,p.66
regardingtheUAEandKuwait,seeKarenLeonard,SouthAsianWorkersintheGulf:Jockeyingfor
Places, in Richard Warren Perry and Bill Maurer, eds., Globalization under Construction:
Governmentality,Law,andIdentity(Minneapolis,MN:UniversityofMinnesotaPress,2003),pp.134,
153.

[5]. PeiChia Lan, Surrogate Family, Disposable Labour and Stratified Others: Transnational
DomesticWorkersinTaiwan,inShirlenaHuang,BrendaS.A.Yeoh,andNoorAbdulRahman,eds.,
AsianWomenasTransnationalDomesticWorkers, (Singapore: Marshall Cavendish, 2005), p. 227
VivienneWeeandAmySim,HongKongasaDestinationforMigrantDomesticWorkers,inShirlena
Huang,BrendaS.A.Yeoh,andNoorAbdulRahman,eds., AsianWomenasTransnationalDomestic
Workers,(Singapore:MarshallCavendish,2005),p.193.

[6]. Andrzej Kapiszewski, Arab Versus Asian Migrant Workers in the GCC Countries. Paper

[6]. Andrzej Kapiszewski, Arab Versus Asian Migrant Workers in the GCC Countries. Paper
presentedattheUnitedNationsExpertGroupMeetingonInternationalMigrationandDevelopment
intheArabRegion,UnitedNationsSecretariat,Beirut,Lebanon,May1517,2006,p.4Sulayman
KhalafandSaadAlkobaisiet,MigrantsStrategiesofCopingandPatternsofAccommodationinthe
OilRichGulfSocieties:EvidencefromtheUAE,British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 26,
No.2(1999),p.272Leonard,SouthAsianWorkersintheGulf,p.133.

[7]. Sulayman Khalaf, Gulf Societies and the Image of Unlimited Good, Dialectical Anthropology,
Vol. 17 (1992), p. 72 Khalaf and Alkobaisi, Migrants Strategies of Coping, p. 294 Ahn Nga
Longva,Walls Build on Sand: Migration, Exclusion, and Society in Kuwait (Boulder, CO: Westview
Press,1997).

[8].SwarnaJayaweera,MalsiriDias,andLeelangiWanasundera,ReturneeMigrantWomeninTwo
LocationsinSriLanka:(Colombo,SriLanka:CENWOR,2002),p.1NedraWeerakoon,SriLanka:
ACasteStudyofInternationalFemaleLabourMigration,inS.Sta.M.Amparita,J.J.Balisnono,R.
Plaetevoet,andR.Selwyn,eds.,LegalProtectionforAsianWomenMigrantWorkers:Strategiesfor
Action,(MakatiCity,Philippines:AteneoHumanRightsCenter,1998),p.109.