Sitting of Saturday, 8 March 2025
Source: Hansard PDF (parliament.lk) ↗ ·No. 1743142289059261 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
Order of business
Speeches load per item. Summaries shown here are AI-generated and labelled; verbatim text is on each speech page.
- 1 Opening Opening 1 speeches
- 2 Papers Papers Presented 3 speeches
- 3 Oral question Oral Question: Various questions (Q.259/2024, Q.381/2025) 6 speeches
- 4 Oral question Oral Question: Mutur and Kinniya Hospitals: Physical Resources and Staff (Q.428/2025) 7 speeches
- 5 Oral question Oral Question: Casual Labourers Recruited to Ceylon Mineral Sands Limited (Q.444/2025) 4 speeches
- 6 Oral question Oral Question: Road from Ambatale to Grandpass: Development (Q.274/2024) 3 speeches
- 7 Debate Statement on International Women's Day 4 speeches
- 8 Oral question Question by Private Notice: Proposed Abolition of Simplified Value Added Tax 19 speeches
- 9 Procedural Privilege Motion: Incident on 20th January 2025 2 speeches
- 10 Debate Appropriation Bill, 2025 - Committee Stage: Ministry of Women and Child Affairs 82 speeches
- 11 Committee report Annual Report of the National Child Protection Authority for 2023 1 speeches
- 12 Adjournment Adjournment Motion: ILO Convention No. 190 - Empowerment of Women at Workplace 12 speeches
- The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake JJB
AI summary Bimal Rathnayake moved the adjournment of Parliament. The motion “That Parliament do now adjourn” was proposed for consideration.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. (Mrs.) Rohini Kumari Wijerathna SJB
AI summary Hon. Rohini Kumari Wijerathna moved an Adjournment Motion on International Women’s Day urging the Government to ratify ILO Convention No. 190 on eliminating violence and harassment in the world of work. She argued that workplace-related physical, verbal, psychological and sexual harassment is a major barrier to women’s labour force participation, noting survey findings that many women would return to work if such harassment ended. The motion states that the Convention covers workers and others across contractual statuses, sectors and locations, and calls on Sri Lanka to adopt it to ensure safe workplaces and support women’s empowerment and economic participation.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. (Ms.) Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney-at-Law JJB
AI summary Hon. Lakmali Hemachandra seconded the motion supporting ratification of ILO Convention C190 on violence and harassment in the world of work, noting that it broadens responsibility beyond individual victims to employers, managers, colleagues, and society. She argued that ratification must be followed by domestic implementing legislation to prevent workplace harassment and violence, particularly against women, and to make workplaces safer and more productive. She urged the Minister of Labour to move swiftly from ratification to legislation, framing the call in the context of International Women’s Day.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. (Dr.) Ramanathan Archchuna Independent Group 17 - Jaffna
AI summary Citing UNDP data, the member highlighted high levels of workplace and public transport harassment against women, noting likely underreporting in the North and East and difficulties victims face due to lengthy court processes. He raised concerns about online sexualized and defamatory content targeting women and children, and criticized inadequate police responses and local protection mechanisms. He requested Tamil-language online and app-based complaint systems for women in the North and East, with action within 24 hours and stronger implementation of existing services such as hotline 1938.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. Mahinda Jayasinghe - Deputy Minister of Labour JJB
AI summary Mahinda Jayasinghe thanked Rohini Kumari Wijerathna for raising ILO Convention No. 190 on International Women’s Day and said the Labour Ministry has begun preliminary work on labour law reforms needed for its ratification, alongside attention to other ILO conventions on fishing, occupational safety and health, and maternity protection. He said successive governments had not ratified C190 since its adoption in 2019, despite continuing violence and psychological pressure faced by women in and outside workplaces. He also linked workplace protections to the low female labour force participation rate of about 32 per cent and said the Government would seek employer-employee consensus to amend relevant laws.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. (Dr.) Anil Jayantha - Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Economic Development JJB
AI summary The Minister stated that the Government supports the objective of eliminating violence and harassment in workplaces, noting its relevance to productivity and the disproportionate impact on women. He said discussions have been held with the ILO Country Director and that a multi-ministry workshop on ILO Convention C190 and related conventions was conducted on 6 March. He emphasized that ratification and legislation must be accompanied by broader social awareness and rejection of harassment, particularly given workplace power imbalances. He said the Government will move swiftly towards ratifying C190 and promoting a decent, safe working environment.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural