Sri Lanka’s foreign employment industry cannot be allowed to sink further into institutional disorder, M.Z.M. Azzam, president of the United Vision Platform, has said — calling for an urgent resolution to the dispute that has stalled the Association of Licensed Foreign Employment Agencies (ALFEA).
Prolonged court proceedings and competing interests within ALFEA have created uncertainty for around 1,000 licensed agencies and those who depend on the industry, Azzam told the Daily Mirror.
Why the association matters
Azzam’s central argument is that ALFEA is not a voluntary trade body that can simply be left to its own quarrels.
It was established within the statutory framework of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment Act No. 21 of 1985, he said. Part VIII of that Act provides for ALFEA’s constitution by Gazette notification and requires every licensed foreign employment agency to become a member.
On that reading the SLBFE is the regulator and ALFEA is the mandatory collective representative of licensed agencies — making both structural components of the country’s foreign employment system rather than optional ones. A dispute that leaves ALFEA without functioning leadership therefore removes the industry’s only statutory voice.
“I fully respect the judicial process, and no individual or institution should attempt to interfere with matters properly before a court,” Azzam said. But the wider institutional paralysis, he argued, cannot be allowed to continue indefinitely.
A call on the Ministry
Azzam criticised what he described as a lack of direct engagement by the relevant Ministry, saying it had not convened a meeting bringing together all licence holders. He urged it to use whatever lawful administrative and policy powers it has to restore stability while respecting judicial independence.
“If there are legal limitations preventing intervention, those limitations should be clearly explained to the industry. If administrative action is possible, it should be taken,” he said, warning that prolonged inaction would further weaken governance in the sector.
”Stop turning an entire national industry into a social-media battlefield”
He also raised the conduct of the dispute itself, saying individuals in the industry were using TikTok and other platforms to trade accusations, and that several groups were presenting themselves as associations without being formally registered — adding to confusion over who legitimately represents the trade.
“The public already views our industry with considerable suspicion because of years of complaints, controversies, fraudulent operators and negative publicity,” he said.
Azzam, who has criticised ALFEA’s leadership before, drew a distinction between the officeholders and the body: “ALFEA is bigger than any President, Secretary, committee, group or individual licence holder.”
He said he is preparing to leave the recruitment industry in the near future, and framed his remarks as a final appeal: “Stop the personal battles. Stop humiliating one another publicly. Stop turning an entire national industry into a social-media battlefield.”
“Sri Lanka needs a strong SLBFE, a properly functioning ALFEA and responsible licensed foreign employment agencies. All three must be capable of working together,” he said.
Why it matters
Labour migration is one of Sri Lanka’s largest sources of foreign exchange, and worker remittances were central to the recovery from the 2022 financial crisis. Recruitment agencies sit between departing workers and overseas employers, and the sector’s record of complaints and rogue operators is the reason it is licensed and regulated in the first place.
Not reported
The Daily Mirror did not identify the parties to the court case, say what is being litigated, when it was filed or when it is next listed. It did not name the Ministry or its minister, carry any response from the Ministry, the SLBFE or ALFEA, or say who currently holds office in the association or whether an election is overdue. It gave no detail on the United Vision Platform, and no outlet has reported whether the dispute has affected the processing of departures.
This account rests on a single newsroom. Ada Derana, Hiru News, NewsFirst and EconomyNext had not carried the statement at the time of writing.
