Amendment of laws to prohibit employment of children as domestic servants

The Commissioner General of Labour yesterday said new amendments to laws will soon prohibit the employment of children below 18 years of age as domestic servants.

Commissioner General B.K. Prabath Chandrakeerthi said legal provisions relating to prohibition of employment of children as domestic servants had been stipulated under the Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act No. 1956 of 47, and that the Commissioner General of Labour would be the implementing authority of the Act. Legal provisions relating to child abuse are stipulated in the penal code, while the law concerning the offences related to child abuse is enforced by the National Child Protection Authority together with the Sri Lanka Police.

Until January 2021 only children under the age of 14 were legally prohibited from being employed. However, parallel to raising the age of compulsory education up to 16 years from January 2021, action was also taken to amend the Act in order to raise the minimum age of employment of children up to 16. Accordingly, currently it is illegal to employ any person below 16 years of age.

However, the Act allows the employment of young persons between 16 to 18 years of age in the services other than the 51 forms of hazardous jobs stipulated in the Act.

The Department of Labour has already taken necessary measures to amend these 51 forms of hazardous jobs, obtaining the approval of the Cabinet for that purpose. Likewise, the Department is taking necessary action to amend the Act with a view to increasing the list of hazardous forms of jobs up to 71. 

The new amendment is expected to prohibit employment of children below 18 years of age in domestic service, services related to sea or inland waterways, ships, vessels and engagement in performances of a dangerous nature, including other hazardous forms of jobs and services.

“As a whole, after the approval of this amendment, employment of any person below 18 years of age in domestic service shall become a punishable offence,” the Commissioner General of Labour added.