S Lanka sets minimum wage for its overseas workers

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DUBAI, Oct 10 (PTI): Sri Lanka has set the minimum wage for its citizens employed as domestic workers overseas at USD 250 per month in an effort to stop employers from exploiting them.
"The new wage scale will come into effect beginning next year. We are also planning to introduce comprehensive insurance coverage in the Gulf countries within six months under which the employers will have to pay the premium," Sri Lanka's Minister of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare, Keheliya Rambukwella told the Gulf News.
Currently, domestic helpers from the island nation earn a minimum salary of Dh600. There are about 1.5 million Sri Lankans working overseas of which a million are women.