Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2021-09-27

Amending Hazardous Occupations Regulations under the Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act No.47 of 1956

- Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act No.47 of 1956 was introduced to regulate the employment of women, young persons and children and to ensure their job security. The minimum age for employment of children has been raised to 16 years from January 2021. The Minister of Labour has issued a Hazardous Occupations Order in accordance with the amendments made to the Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act No. 24 of 2006 following the ratification of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Minimum Age Convention by Sri Lanka. Accordingly, 51 hazardous jobs have been introduced for young people between the ages of 16-18 and employing them in such jobs has been declared a punishable offense by law. The orders, which was introduced about 10 years ago, has been further reviewed and identified 20 new periodically hazardous jobs, including domestic service, beauty culture and jobs related to computers and electronics. Accordingly, the proposal made by the Minister of Labour to publish the regulations made by the Legal Draftsman having expanded the list of hazardous jobs up to 71, in the Government Gazette and thereafter present the amended regulations in Parliament, for approval, was approved by the Cabinet.