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Plantations sector discusses child labour

19 Jul 2021

  • Concerns over role of brokers who facilitate Colombo jobs
BY Pamodi Waravita The Malayaha Organisation for Democracy (MOD) yesterday (19) had a wide-ranging discussion about the issue of child labour in the plantations sector and the role of brokers in this regard, following the death of a 16-year-old girl who was allegedly working as a maid at MP Rishad Bathiudeen’s residence. Speaking to The Morning, Movement for Plantation People's Land Rights (MPPLR) Convenor and Plantation Workers’ Wage Rights Movement (PWWRM) Co-ordinator S.T. Ganeshalingam said that the MOD, consisting of over 56 organisations, had discussed the issue, especially in light of the business of “brokers” in the estate sector who transport children to Colombo for employment. “We have to understand that some of these families have no choice other than to send their children to work. There are brokers here who facilitate this process, although with the onset of the pandemic, many who had left for work in Colombo lost their jobs and have since come back to the plantations,” noted Ganeshalingam. The deceased girl in question had succumbed to burn injuries on 15 July, and a judicial medical examination subsequently revealed she suffered prolonged sexual abuse. Estate Housing and Community Infrastructure State Minister Jeevan Thondamon had contacted the Public Security Minister Dr. Sarath Weerasekera over the weekend, requesting a thorough investigation into the employment status and history of the girl who had died while allegedly working at the residence of MP Bathiudeen. In January 2021, the Government revised a number of laws to increase the minimum age of employment from 14 years to 16 years in Sri Lanka. The girl was from Dayagama and was allegedly working as a maid in the house of MP Bathiudeen in the Bauddhaloka Mawatha area in the Borella Police Division. She was admitted to the National Hospital of Sri Lanka on 3 July with burn injuries and died on 15 July. Investigations have revealed that the girl was brought to the house in October 2020 and was 15 years and 11 months old at the time.


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