Lankan Parliament approves legislation for women workers

Colombo, Aug 13: Sri Lanka's Parliament approved new legislation today that would raise the monthly overtime limit for female workers to 60 hours putting them on par with male employees.

Women, who comprise nearly 50 percent of the island nation's work force, are allowed only nine hours of overtime per month.

“There has been a call for an amendment in the law, especially from the garment sector,'' labor and employment minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said in Parliament.
The proposed legislation is part of the government policy to reform the country's labor laws, most of which were adopted in the 1930s.

Bureau Report