National steering committee for the elimination of child labour meets

Colombo, Jan. 23 (Daily Mirror) - The National Steering Committee for the Elimination of Child Labour (NSCECL) held its first meeting for the year this morning (23) at the auditorium of the General Secretariat of Labour in Narahenpita.

The meeting was held under the patronage of the Secretary to the Ministry of Labour, S.M. Piyatissa, with the participation of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Country Representative, Joni Simpson, and the Commissioner General of Labour, Nadeeka Wataliyadda.

During the meeting, Commissioner of Labour attached to the Women and Children’s Affairs Division of the Department of Labour, N.M.Y. Thushari, presented a progress report on measures taken by the Department of Labour over the past year to eliminate child labour. An overview of the child labour situation in Sri Lanka was also presented by N.M.K. Navaratne, Deputy Director of the Statistics Division of the Department of Labour.

Committee members shared their views and proposals on further steps required to completely eradicate child labour in Sri Lanka, which currently records one of the lowest child labour rates in the region.

Representatives from relevant ministries, government departments, other institutions, as well as employer and employee organisations that form part of the National Steering Committee for the Elimination of Child Labour, participated in the meeting.