Sri Lanka could reduce the rate of child labour by 60 per cent when it is compared to the rate in 2008/2009, Labour and Trade Union Relations Minister Ravindra Samaraweera said. “Sri Lanka has the potential to reach “zero” of child labour, and we are working tto reach this goal,” the Minister said.
The Minister was addressing the 100 year celebration of the ILO recently in Colombo.
Sri Lanka has accepted 43 conventions including eight key conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to strengthen the industrial and working rights of the working community,
The Minister said that with the measures taken to do away with the child labour, Sri Lanka could reduce child labour by 60 per cent. According to the 2015/2016 Child Activity Monitoring Report of the ILO, the rate of child labour has been reduced significantly.
A number of fruitful measures were taken in this regard including accepting 43 conventions of 189 of the ILO, the Minister said. Sri Lanka is abided by working to set up and improve industrial peace, ban child labour, set up proper working environment, industrial disputes and many more, the Minister said.
Various programmes are conducted to improve the labour related achievements further. The Labour Ministry opened up for a public discussion to strengthen industrial peace, while establishing good governance at work places. More programmes will be launched to improve industrial peace further in due course, he said.
“Sri Lanka is a member country of the ILO, which consists of 187 member countries. We joined the organisation in 1948. The government will maintain its cordial rapport with the ILO to assist the working community,” he said.
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