NATIONAL ACTION PLAN TO BRING DOMESTIC WORKERS UNDER COUNTRY’S LABOUR LAW
The government has decided to introduce legislation and come up with a National Action Plan to bring domestic workers under the country’s labour law. The Cabinet had already given its approval for a ‘Sri Lanka National Action Plan’ for the promotion and protection of human rights where the rights of domestic workers are also included.
The Trade Union Relations Minister John Seneviratne’s Cabinet proposal for the project was approved last week.
The new laws and National Action Plan are aimed at setting minimum standards for domestic work and introducing a new charter towards that end.
Making laws and regulations will enable the setting of minimum standards for domestic work and accordingly including ‘domestic worker’ in the definition of “worker” in the Industrial Disputes Act and the Employees’ Provident Fund and Employees’ Trust Fund Acts would also be a big boost for domestic workers, Minister Seneviratne said.
The Action Plan includes implementing laws that protect the economic rights of women engaged in domestic work, employed on subcontract basis in agricultural or contractual services,those employed only for a specific period of time and those engaged in temporary employment.
Domestic workers are employed both locally as well as internationally. A large number of Sri Lankans, mainly women, are employed abroad as domestics and the government of Sri Lanka has entered into various international agreements for the protection of their rights, especially in regard to their recruitment, deployment, payment of wages and protection afforded to them, Minister Seneviratne added.
Though statistics are not available on the number of domestic workers employed locally, it is acknowledged that there a large number of such workers. Already, a trade union of domestic workers known as ‘Domestic Workers’ Association,’ whose membership is reported to be approximately 3,000, has been established. Their rights are not protected under any of the existing labour legislations and as a result they are employed for lower salaries and encounter problems in obtaining leave. They also do not have any social protection.
“Domestic workers have been excluded from the Industrial Disputes Act, Employees’ Provident Fund and Employees’ Trust Fund upto now. As a result of such exclusion, the Department of Labour cannot make interventions to protect their rights. As the responsibility of protecting the rights of domestic workers has been entrusted to the Labour Ministry, as per the National Human Rights Action Plan, I am of the opinion that it is reasonable to extend social protection and rights under labour laws to domestic workers as enjoyed by other workers,” the minister said.