News
Labour Minister to overhaul colonial era labour laws pertaining to children
By Saman Indrajith
Minister of Labour Nimal Siripala de Silva says the laws will be enacted within the next three months to raise the minimum age for employment of a person in the country to 18 years.
Representatives of the Department of Labour, the Attorney General’s Department, the Ministry of Justice, the Children and Women’s Bureau, the International Labor Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) participated in the discussion on the future course of action to be taken to protect the rights of domestic workers at the Ministry of Labor on Tuesday (27).
The Minister also instructed the officials to expedite the process of enforcing the regulations required to revise the list of hazardous jobs already prepared by the Legal Draftsman’s Department through the regulations to be introduced under the Employment of Women, Youth and Children Act.
The 150-year-old rules pertaining to the domestic service community would be changed and new rules would be introduced for their welfare, he said.
It was also decided to require an employer to furnish information regarding a person employed in a household to the District Labor Officer and to include domestic workers in the National Minimum Wage Act and to amend the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Employees’ Trust Fund (ETF) Acts to cover domestic workers.
New regulations will also be formulated regarding the working hours, leisure time and leave for the domestic worker community and to ensure safe and fair service inspections for them.
It was also decided to introduce a code of conduct for domestic workers to ensure gratuity payments.
The Minister emphasised that the objective of all those measures was to ensure the professional dignity of the domestic service community.
In terms of the provisions of the Establishments Code on payment of festival advance to government officers, there’s a possibility of obtaining rupees 10,000/- as an advance for celebrating festivals of Theipongal, Ramazan, Sinhala and Hindu New Year, Wesak, Deepavali, and Christmas as well as for pilgrimages (Sri Paada pilgrimage and Hajj pilgrimage).
Provisions have been given to recover the said advance in 08 installments or if required earlier without interest. It has been proposed by the Budget 2026 to increase the said festival advance up to rupees 15,000/-.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the proposal submitted by the Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local governments to revise the relevant provisions so that the festival advance can be increased up to rupees 15,000/- .
As per the approval given by the cabinet meeting held on 02-06-2025, action is being taken at present to offer the underutilized lands/properties of the Sri Lanka State Plantation Corporation, the Janatha Etate Development Board, and the Elkaduwa Plantation Company which are under the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure which have been identified under stage one to suitable investors.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Plantations and Community Infrastructure to provide following lands/properties on a lease basis to the suitable investors for optimal utilization following the prescribed procurement procedure.
• underutilized lands/properties identified under stage two owned by the Sri Lanka State Plantation Corporation, the Janatha Estate Development Board, and the Elkaduwa Plantation
Company,
• The Mawarala watte land and the Tea factory 40.48 hectares in extent, located in Matara District belonging to the Tea Shakthi Fund.
• The underutilized land of 1,541 hectares in extent of Kondachchi Estate is enjoyed by the Sri Lanka Cashew Corporation.
The drafting of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy has commenced with the objective of equitable distribution of the benefits of the fisheries industry and the sustainable management of fisheries and aquaculture. This policy has been updated from time to time according to current requirements. However, steps have not been taken to obtain the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers for that purpose.
According to the policy declaration of the present government, ‘Vistas of Prosperity and Splendor’ the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy has been redrafted, updating the aforementioned policy in line with the economic and development objectives of the government.
The recommendations of the Department of National Planning have been received for the drafted policy.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Marine
Resources to implement the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy, integrating it with other relevant policies.
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Festival advance for government officers to be increased
Providing underutilized lands/properties to suitable investors for optimal utilization.
Implementation of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy
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