Sri Lanka’s Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal by the Minister of Labour to appoint a committee comprising relevant officials and stakeholders to recommend measures and legal amendments concerning manpower employees who have been engaged for long periods in the core operations of state-owned enterprises.
The proposed committee is expected to examine steps that can be taken to ensure such workers are not subjected to unfair treatment while also reviewing existing labour-related legal provisions.
The move comes after growing concerns over the increasing use of outsourced manpower employees by some state enterprises instead of directly recruiting workers for their primary operational activities. The government said that the practice of obtaining temporary workers through external manpower agencies has expanded steadily in recent years.
The government also identified the need to amend existing legal provisions to regulate the deployment of manpower agency workers and safeguard their labour rights and welfare in line with the principles of the International Labour Organization Private Employment Agencies Convention.
Officials said the proposed reforms are aimed at strengthening worker protections while addressing long-standing employment issues affecting manpower employees engaged in the public sector. (Newswire)