🪁 Sri Lanka’s Department of Labour is strengthening national action against child labour, building on awareness and review activities held earlier this year.
In June, the Women and Children’s Affairs Division marked the World Day Against Child Labour with an 👟 Awareness Walk in Colombo’s Grandpass area, a community identified as vulnerable. The event featured a street drama aimed at highlighting the importance of preventing the employment of children under the age of 16, as well as engaging youth aged 16–18 in hazardous occupations. Public awareness was further promoted through the display of posters and banners, and the distribution of informative leaflets along the walk route to the general public.
Later that month, a Progress Review Programme brought together senior government officials, ILO representatives and members of the National Steering Committee on the Elimination of Child Labour to assess achievements in 2025 and plan the way forward. Participants presented the progress of initiatives at eliminating child labour during the year and actively shared their views and issues focusing to plan and implement of future strategies to eradicate child labour from Sri Lanka.
➡️ These efforts now feed into an ambitious agenda for the second half of the year: 44 special field inspections in the plantation and fisheries sectors, 67 awareness programmes targeting small and medium-sized enterprises, and 93 inspections in the tourism sector. Together, these initiatives will reach more than 3,200 workplaces and employers nationwide.
Find out more about Sri Lanka’s commitment to achieve SDG Target 8.7!
Images: WCA