ILO participates in European Parliament exchange on human and labour rights in Sri Lanka

Ms Simrin Singh, Director of the ILO Country Office for Sri Lanka and the Maldives, addressed a meeting of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights on the human and labour rights situation in Sri Lanka.

In June 2021, the European Parliament adopted a Resolution on the situation in Sri Lanka, in which it expresses its concern about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the deteriorating labour rights situation in the country. The MEPs urge Sri Lanka to cooperate fully with the ILO, amongst others to strengthen the labour rights of factory workers, including health and safety conditions for garment workers in special trade zones.

“The Sri Lankan labour market is over 70% informal, and thus outside of the purview of the regulatory frameworks,” said Ms Singh. Whilst Sri Lanka has ratified the eight fundamental ILO Conventions, the situation has become more challenging due to the COVID-19 crisis. The country suffers from a high level of unemployment and underemployment, whilst social protection is lacking.

Sri Lanka is facing a severe financial crisis. The country relies very much on remittances from migrant workers, which used to amount to 8% of GDP, but have declined.

Labour disputes resolution saw an escalation during COVID-19. In December, the ILO has received a direct request from the Ministry of Labour for assistance on which legal amendments are required for industrial disputes, specifically with regard to the Industrial Disputes Act of Sri Lanka, and how these revisions can be implemented. The ILO is looking into this and working with the Ministry to ensure a rapid response regarding labour rights violations and the resolution of disputes.

The Director further noted that micro and small enterprises are often indebted and borrowing from unauthorized institutions. Migrant workers rely on unregistered recruitment agents, and many in the world of work are not borrowing from official channels. As a result, the levels of indebtedness in Sri Lanka are rising. The ILO is researching the link between decent work deficits, potential forced labour situations and indebtedness.

On a positive note, the Government has tabled a National labour migration for employment policy. It includes elements of fair recruitment, the prevention of human trafficking, and the skilling and upskilling of migrant workers.

The Better Work Programme, which is supported by the European Union, has now included Sri Lanka as one of its programme countries and is engaging the national constituents to develop a more robust means to address ongoing challenges in Sri Lanka’s textile and apparel industry. Gender is among the three priority areas of the action and the partners aim to have more women in managerial positions in the factories. The formation of occupational safety and health bipartite committees in the factories is another priority. Better Work also focusses on SMEs in the sector, which have been hard hit by the crisis.