Sri Lanka adopts new rules against child labour
Sri Lanka has announced stricter child labour laws, whose implementation starts today, 1 July 2025. The government ban includes activities like “begging, street trading and domestic work,” said a spokesperson for the Cabinet and Minister of Health and Mass Media, Nalinda Jayatissa.
The ban specifically prohibits the employment of children under 16 in such activities, while children aged 16 to 18 are also restricted from involvement in hazardous jobs.
Accordingly, the employment of children under 16 in activities such as begging and trading, as well as the employment of children aged between 16 and 18 in domestic and other hazardous forms of labour, will be prohibited. Existing legal provisions will be strictly enforced by the relevant authorities to achieve this.
Furthermore, a widespread public awareness campaign will be launched to educate the public about these regulations.
Speaking at the weekly Cabinet press briefing on June 25, Minister Jayatissa emphasised that, according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, any individual under 18 is legally defined as a child. He further highlighted that, based on the most recent statistics, around 30% of Sri Lanka’s total population falls under the category of children.
The country has policies aimed at eliminating child labour, focusing especially on its worst forms to protect children’s rights and well-being. However, challenges remain in fully addressing and preventing child labour in Sri Lanka.
The National Policy on Elimination of Child Labour in Sri Lanka, September 2017 – https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/srl179403.pdf
