Sri Lanka government will be taking immediate action to amend labor laws and support the economic empowerment of women, Labor Ministry sources said.
The authorities are committed to review existing labor laws, addressing current rigidities and facilitating part time and flexible working arrangements.
This would help open new job opportunities for women and encourage their participation in the work force, ministry official said.
Part-time work is currently not widely used. Employers are expected to provide the same compensation to part-time and full-time workers upon termination, discouraging to offer part-time jobs, he added.
Provisions regulating night shifts also reduce female labour force participation (FLFP), for example in the IT sector, ministry official opined.
The authorities have also launched specific initiatives to support youth employment. The 2019 budget includes a series of proposals to support the youth.
The Finance Ministry’s ’ strategy focuses on improving access to education, particularly among poorer households and regions, including by expanding technical and vocational education and training, to reduce skills mismatches.
The expansion of vocational training can also support FLFP in non-traditional jobs.
Other initiatives to support youth employment aim at increasing access to finance for projects in early stages of development to support innovation and entrepreneurship and at facilitating the creation of small and medium-sized enterprises.
(LI)