Diplomatic servants – The Island

The recent decision by an Australian Federal Court that a Sri Lankan diplomat had underpaid a domestic assistant working in her Canberra residence, awarding her over AUD 500,000 in back pay and interest, is, to say the least, deeply troubling. All the more so as the diplomat involved, Himali Arunatillake, who now serves as our Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, is widely regarded as one of the finest professionals in the country’s foreign service.

Her colleagues and peers are unanimous in their opinion that she is also an exceptionally fine lady who would never be guilty of participating in a “slavery-like arrangement” that she has been accused of in various media reports. Sri Lanka is not the only country in this situation. A former Indian high commissioner to Australia is in the same boat.

We in Sri Lanka have long been accustomed to the horror stories told to us by our domestic workers, who struggle in jobs in the Middle East that they have taken to escape the poverty trap at home. Sexual abuse, outright cruelty and much more are part of this story. We are also well aware that poor people from many parts of the world, legally and illegally, try to improve themselves economically by finding work in rich countries where wages are vastly different from those in their home countries. They often risk their lives in such ventures, but still try to get out of their own country in search of the Promised Land, by fair and unfair means.

It is fairly common knowledge that Sri Lankan diplomats, like most of their South Asian colleagues and probably others from the poorer parts of the world, receive domestic support from their home countries when they go on overseas assignments. The governments of the various countries pay the return airfare of such persons and, as far as we know, it is common practice in Colombo to pay a dollar allowance so that diplomats can recruit a suitable employee and pay him/her out of this allowance.

In many or most cases, such allowances are paid in full to the worker. Although the allowance itself does not come close to the prevailing wage rates in developed countries, in rupee terms and current exchange rates it would be well above the salary of a domestic worker here. Since domestic workers are housed and fed at the diplomat’s expense, such an arrangement is in no way unfair to the worker. The Colombo Department of Foreign Affairs also facilitates the issuance of an “official passport” to such domestic workers, although this arrangement does not apply in Australia, where different rules apply.

After the stinking mess hit the fan since the Australian court ruling was published, the Department of Foreign Affairs here issued a formal statement clearly outlining its position on the matter. Among other things, it stated that it is “standard practice” for diplomats to be facilitated by the Department to bring along domestic assistants to “support their official representational duties”. In other words, entertainment is an important part of a diplomat’s job and this requires domestic assistance.

Regarding the current matter, the ministry said: “The domestic worker in question has served a full term of three years and fled the employer’s residence on the eve of the employer’s originally intended departure from Australia.” It added that the allowance approved by the ministry as the worker’s salary has been paid to her in full.

Domestic helpers running away from diplomatic residences on the eve of departure is not an uncommon phenomenon. Other Sri Lankan diplomats including ambassadors/high commissioners have faced such incidents in the past. They will undoubtedly happen in the future too for obvious reasons. It is very difficult for a job seeker to gain entry to developed countries for employment. Once in such a country as a domestic assistant to a diplomat, male servants in particular see lucrative jobs disappear.

They often do this, they work as illegals and earn very well. So “running away” is a rewarding proposition that is often used. You can only guess how many people have done this and managed to stay abroad. Some may even have been able to regularize their papers afterwards and continue to live and work in prosperous countries.

Ms Arunatillake was Deputy High Commissioner in Canberra when the incident occurred in 2018 and the case was brought in 2022, four years later, with the help of the Salvation Army and a public interest law firm. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), which filed a detailed report on the incident it described as “wage exploitation”, said the allegedly “exploited” domestic worker, in her mid-30s, had never been outside Sri Lanka.

She had said in a sworn statement that her employer had not been rude to her and had never made threats. But she had complained that she had not been properly fed or clothed. She had been picked up from the diplomatic residence in a Salvation Army car shortly before the scheduled departure, and the rest followed.

Where this sad chapter will end remains to be seen. It is unlikely that the domestic party in question has returned to Sri Lanka or will do so. Tiger supporters looking for anti-Sri Lanka opportunities at the UNHRC session starting in Geneva in September have already seized their chance with a report in the Tamil guard. Ordinary people here will wonder whether drivers, gardeners, cooks and butlers working for wealthy missions in Colombo are paid the wages paid in their own countries or what is customary here. No prizes are offered for guessing the correct answer.