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Crackdown on children’s employers

15 Jun 2021

  • Labour Department to conduct workplace inspections and check employee files 

By Buddhika Samaraweera    The Labour Department has developed a special programme to initiate legal action against those who employ children under the age of 16 years, following the Government's decision to raise the minimum age of employment from 14 to 16 years.  When contacted regarding the enforcement of the Government’s decision and ensuring employer compliance with the said law, the Labour Commissioner General Prabhath Chandrakeerthi told The Morning that the relevant files of the employees would be checked. This would be done during the inspections of workplaces being carried out through the regional offices of the Labour Department, and if any person under the stipulated minimum age of employment is found to have been employed, legal action would be taken against the employers.  He further said that the Labour Department would also investigate complaints received by the 1929 hotline introduced by the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) and take appropriate action.  Chandrakeerthi further requested the public to immediately inform the Labour Department or the NCPA if there was any information regarding the employment of minors.  On 18 January 2021, a special Act - the Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children (Amendment) Act, No. 02 of 2021 - with regard to child labour was passed in the Parliament. The Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act, No. 47 of 1956 as amended had prohibited children up to 14 years of age from working. This new Act, however, changed it, and increased the minimum age to 16 years.  In a recent statement issued in this regard, the NCPA explained that this decision was based on an earlier decision to extend the age of compulsory education up to 16 years, which was made under the Education Ordinance’s regulations pertaining to compulsory education.  Also, NCPA Chairman Prof. Muditha Vidanapathirana, explaining the nature of the employment opportunities that should be made available for children (below 18 years), said that children between the ages of 16 and 18 years could only be recruited for jobs that do not pose a threat to their life, health, education and moral development. According to him, it is strictly prohibited to recruit them for unsafe jobs or jobs that require them to work at night. Steps would be taken against parents and intermediaries that use children for begging under Section 288 of the Penal Code, an offence which carries a term of imprisonment up to five years upon conviction, he added. He further pointed out that recruiting children for street vending activities, involvement in the drug and liquor trade, circuses and entertainment activities, for monetary benefits, and the sex trade, as well as using children for commercial activities via the cyber space, are offences under the criminal law.  Meanwhile, the NCPA’s Planning and Information Director Shanika Malalgoda, told The Morning that in accordance with the NCPA Act, complaints regarding child labour cases are being accepted by the NCPA. She also said that NCPA officials attached to the Authority’s regional offices are also handling complaints with regard to the employment of children under 16 years.  The public can contact the NCPA via the hotline 1929 or the 1929 child protection mobile application to make complaints regarding incidents where children under 16 years of age have been employed. Information about the recruitment of children between 16 and 18 years of age for dangerous or unsafe jobs can also be submitted to the NCPA through the said hotline and mobile app.


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