CEDAW and the rights of working women in Sri Lanka

Violence and harassment against working women transcends borders, salary brackets and levels of job security 

Incidence reports appearing in newspapers, and complaints made at police stations are just the tip of the iceberg and the magnitude of the problem is much greater and most of the time hidden and unspoken of. Discrimination occurs when a woman reasonably believes that expressing her objection would negatively impact her employment, including aspects like recruitment or promotion. This recognition underscores the importance of fostering an environment where women can voice their concerns without fear of repercussions

“No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of half of its citizens”

 – Michelle Obama –

The Hebrew tradition regarding the creation of the first woman, Eve, offers a fascinating perspective. According to this narrative, God fashioned Eve by extracting a rib from Adam’s body. This act symbolised that women and men share equal status. However, societal expectations often impose rigid gender roles, perpetuating stereotypes. In practice, these stereotypes often assign power to men, expecting them to exert control over women. Unfortunately, women frequently encounter denial of rights and opportunities. 

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), stands as a pivotal international instrument which defines and addresses discrimination against women comprehensively and with legal force. Sri Lanka, where women play a crucial role in the economy, has ratified this Convention without reservations.

CEDAW emphasises that governments must take appropriate measures to promote the full development and progress of women, ensuring their equal rights alongside men. Key provisions include safeguarding women’s right to work, equal training and employment opportunities, equitable pay for comparable work, and access to benefits and compensatory programs. Additionally, the Convention prohibits workplace discrimination based on marriage, pregnancy, and maternity, while advocating for paid maternity leave. In essence, CEDAW serves as an essential framework for advancing gender equality and protecting women’s rights globally.

Legal framework

Sri Lanka has implemented several legislative measures to uphold the principles outlined in the CEDAW, particularly concerning the rights of working women. CEDAW has been a firm basis for the fundamental rights related to women’s rights which were strongly anchored in the overarching constitutional guarantees of Sri Lanka. 

The Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act seeks to prevent female employees from being forced to work at night. Employers who want to hire women to work after 10 p.m. must get written sanction of the commissioner of labour for women and must also ensure their safety. The Wages Board Ordinance as amended resulted in the equalising of wages in many areas of the formal sector of legally regulated employment. The Women’s Charter of Sri Lanka asserts that women should enjoy equitable opportunities in both employment and wages, on par with men. This commitment underscores the pursuit of gender equality in Sri Lanka’s workforce.

The Maternity Benefits Act provides expectant women with legal protection from dismissal for any illness connected with pregnancy and confinement, and from engaging in work that is deemed injurious to the health. While the law recognises maternity benefits as being the right of a pregnant woman, studies show that some employers flout labour laws with impunity. With a few exceptions, casual and contract workers receive no benefits at all. 

Is Sri Lanka complying with CEDAW?

Alongside the above positive indicators, from the factory floor to the boardroom, violence and harassment against working women transcends borders, salary brackets and levels of job security. Women in the plantation sector are mainly engaged in labour intensive tasks. Gender segregation of labour traps them within the sector and limits their chances of accessing employment opportunities in other sectors and geographical locations. 

In the garment industry, where mainly young female workers are employed, the congestion has meant poor quality, unsafe accommodation for young female workers, who are exposed to physical safety issues on their way to work, and issues of sexual harassment within the factories with long-term personal repercussions. The problems of female workers in Export Processing Zones are aggravated as there are no trade unions to fight for labour rights. 

Female workers are being pushed into other options due to these reasons, such as overseas migration. However, while some migrants have benefited from working as ‘maids’ in foreign countries, massive protection gaps have exposed many others to a range of human rights abuses including labour exploitation, violence, trafficking and even killings. 

Different provisions in the Maternity Benefits Ordinance and the Shop and Office Employees’ Act, mean that maternity benefits are not uniform but different for white-collar and blue-collar workers, with shop and office employees receiving more days than factory workers. Under these legislations, fathers are only allocated three days for paternity leave, which further discourages men from taking on roles as caregivers and active parents.

The amendments to the Workmen’s Compensation Ordinance have not ensured that the needs of women workers are met. Welfare provisions in the Factories Ordinance and Shop and Office Employees’ (Regulation of Employment and Remuneration) Act permitting night work for women are not being monitored to ensure that employers provide the necessary facilities for night workers. The amendment to increase the overtime ceiling from 100 hours per year to 60 hours per month for women workers in factories need to be scrutinised for effective implementation. 

Incidence reports appearing in newspapers, and complaints made at police stations are just the tip of the iceberg and the magnitude of the problem is much greater and most of the time hidden and unspoken of. Discrimination occurs when a woman reasonably believes that expressing her objection would negatively impact her employment, including aspects like recruitment or promotion. This recognition underscores the importance of fostering an environment where women can voice their concerns without fear of repercussions.

Way forward for improvements

In order to ensure the rights of women at workplaces, measures should be taken to increase the economic participation of women and ensure that they have equal access to the labour market and equal opportunities to and at work. Labour laws should be revised so that they apply to all workers, including those in the informal sector.

Human rights advocates have stated that pregnancy related needs should be conceptualised as a right and not a benefit to women regardless of the sector they work in, while paternity leave should be increased to allow fathers to spend more time with their infants. 

The Registration of Domestic Servants Ordinance should be updated to cover the challenges of domestic workers, many of whom are women, by promoting measures such as the establishment and enforcement of laws pertaining to minimum wages, maximum work hours, and equal pay for equal work, as well as safe working conditions.

Full and effective enforcement of the measures taken to protect women migrant workers, including preventing the activities of illegal employment agencies and ensuring that insurance covers the disabled and jobless after they return to Sri Lanka should be ensured.

The Government should adopt measures to protect and promote the rights of women working in informal sectors as well as free trade zones, reduce the gender wage gap by applying regular pay surveys and establishing effective monitoring and regulatory mechanisms for employment and recruitment practices and collect disaggregated data on sexual harassment in both the public and private sectors, including on the sanctions imposed on perpetrators. 

In conclusion, it can be stated that research on workplace violence is sparse. More than one-third of the world’s countries including Sri Lanka have no laws against sexual harassment at work, leaving nearly 235 million women vulnerable. Where laws exist, they are often weak, or their related policies, practices and resources are too inadequate to be effective. Many of the laws in Sri Lanka are clearly well-intentioned and meant to protect women in compliance with CEDAW. Regrettably, some are also very outdated and play heavily on gender stereotypes. Moreover, implementation of the laws remains a challenge, and monitoring and compliance with existing laws has been lacking for years. Obtaining reliable data is difficult mainly because victims are reluctant to reveal such incidents due to social stigma. 

The moral case for tackling this issue is clear. But so is the economic case. Workplace violence and harassment impose direct costs on businesses, stemming from factors such as absenteeism, high employee turnover, litigation, and the need for compensation. These financial implications underscore the urgency of addressing and preventing such issues in organisational settings. Even though Sri Lanka has ratified conventions related to equality and protection of women and the provisions of Constitution talk about international relations and treaty obligation, it has failed to fulfil its obligations in special case laws due to the dualism policy. 

(The writer is an Attorney at Law having a Master’s degree in International Business Law, specialised in Intellectual Property Law and Information Technology Law related to Business Law.)