Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Sri Lanka

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) (Ratification: 1993)
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) (Ratification: 1998)

In order to provide a comprehensive view of the issues relating to the application of ratified Conventions on equality under examination this year, the Committee considers it appropriate to examine Conventions Nos 100 (Equal Remuneration) and 111 (Discrimination in Employment and Occupation), together.

Convention No. 111 – National policy to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of employment and occupation

Articles 1(1)(a), 2 and 3(b). Prohibited grounds of discrimination. Direct and indirect discrimination. Legislation. The Committee notes that the provisions of the Penal Code, the Employment of Women, Young Persons, and Children Act, the Wages Boards Ordinance, and the Shop and Office Employees (Regulation of Employment and Remuneration) Act, No. 28 of 2024, are too general to ensure that Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention is given full legal effect. It also notes the Government’s indication in its report on Convention No. 100 that a draft Employment Act including provisions prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, race, birth, religion, political opinion, language, creed, caste, age, marital status, disability, pregnancy, and membership in a trade union, with regard to hiring, employment, remuneration, promotion, or termination of employment, is at the drafting stage. The Committee notes, however, that such draft provisions are not fully in line with Article 1(1)(a) since: (1) they do not provide for the ground of colour; (2) discrimination based on social origin not only refers to an individual’s membership of a caste but also a class or a socio-occupational category; and (3) the concept of national extraction covers distinctions made not only on the basis of a person’s place of birth, but also ancestry or foreign origin. Moreover, the Government has not indicated whether the Employment Act will prohibit indirect discrimination and cover non-citizens. Lastly, the Committee notes that, pending the adoption of the Employment Act, no legislative provisions address discrimination in employment and occupation based on religion. The Committee urges the Government to take without delay all the necessary steps to adopt comprehensive legislative provisions in order to ensure that all men and women workers in the public and private sectors, citizens and non-citizens, are effectively protected from both direct and indirect discrimination in all aspects of employment and occupation and on all the grounds enumerated in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. It asks the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard. Meanwhile, please indicate how it is ensured that all workers or prospective workers are protected against discrimination in employment and occupation on the basis of colour, religion, national extraction and social origin.

Convention No. 100 – Principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value

Articles 1 to 4. Gender pay gap. The Committee notes with interest that, as a result of the collaboration between the Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment, the National Institute of Labour Studies and the ILO, “The Gender Pay Gap in Sri Lanka – A statistical review with policy implications” was issued in April 2024. This report concludes that significant gaps still exist in the country in the extent to which women are able to access employment, as well as the types of jobs they find. It shows that: (1) the overall raw mean gender pay gap was estimated at 8 per cent and the overall raw median gender pay gap at 14 per cent; (2) the lowest raw median gender pay gap was registered in the educational sector (2 per cent), and the highest one in real estate (63 per cent); (3) it was estimated at 5 per cent in the formal sector and 37 per cent in the informal economy; (4) there is no gender pay gap in Public Administration; and (5) in a few sectors, such as mining, construction, transport and storage, women earn more than their male counterparts. The report suggests several policy recommendations to address the gender pay gap and the Government indicates that new provisions have been incorporated into the draft Employment Act in line with such recommendations. The Committee urges the Government to continue to take steps to implement the above-mentioned policy recommendations with a view to reducing the gender pay gap. It requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard. The Committee also requests the Government to provide updated information on the average level of earnings of men and women, disaggregated by economic activity and occupation, both in the private and public sectors, as well as in the informal economy if available.

Articles 1 and 2(1). The principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.Legislation. The Committee notes with regret that this principle has not been included into the 2024 Shop and Office Employees Act. Nonetheless, it also notes the Government’s indication that it has been decided to discontinue any further amendments to this Act in view of the draft Employment Act. The Committee welcomes that, according to this draft, domestic workers are classified as formal workers. The Committeeurges the Government to take without delay all the necessary steps to adopt comprehensive legislative provisions that will ensure that the principle of the Convention is given full legal effect and that it will cover all categories of workers in the private sector, including domestic workers. It asks the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard.

Article 2. Wage-fixing mechanisms. Minimum wages. Domestic workers. The Committee notes that the process of amending the Wages Boards Ordinance has also been discontinued in view of the draft Employment Act, which classifies domestic workers as formal workers. The Committee asks the Government to ensure thatthe provisions relating to the national minimum wage will be extended to domestic workers, and to provide information on any progress made in this regard. It also asks the Government to provide information on the minimum wage-fixing mechanism that the Employment Act will set up.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.