Sitting of Tuesday, 18 March 2025
Source: Hansard PDF (parliament.lk) ↗ ·No. 1745915246032615 ·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 Speaker's Announcements: Committee to Look into Legal Basis for Parliamentary Committee Recommendations 1 speeches
- 2 Papers Paper: Annual Report of Sri Lanka Institute of Textile and Apparel 2022 1 speeches
- 3 Petitions Petitions 4 speeches
- 4 Oral question Oral Question: Govijana Seva Bank, Mihintale - Loan Granted to Janatha Lanka Chillie Marketing Ltd. (Q.495/2025) 1 speeches
- 5 Oral question Oral Questions: Teachers' Service and Principals' Service Salary Anomalies (Q.502/2025), Estates in Badulla District Drinking Water Projects (Q.505/2025), Damage to Cultivations by Wild Animals (Q.498/2025) 7 speeches
- 6 Oral question Oral Question under Standing Order 27(2): Export of Sri Lanka's Textiles and Apparels and Ministerial Clarifications 11 speeches
- 7 Procedural Ministerial Statement: Health Sector Strike by Paramedical and Allied Health Professionals 2 speeches
- 8 Procedural Privilege Question: Conduct at COPE Meeting Regarding Gem Lot 8 speeches
- 9 Debate Appropriation Bill 2025, Twenty-third Allotted Day - Committee Stage: Heads 149, 303, 194 and 219 (Industry and Entrepreneurship Development; Youth Affairs and Sports) 87 speeches
- 10 Papers Paper: Annual Report of National Youth Services Council for year ended 31.12.2024 1 speeches
- 11 Adjournment Adjournment Motion: Protection and Support for Migrant Workers Abroad 9 speeches
- The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake JJB
AI summary Bimal Rathnayake moved the adjournment of Parliament. The motion “That Parliament do now adjourn” was proposed.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. Chandima Hettiaratchi JJB
AI summary Hon. Chandima Hettiaratchi moved an Adjournment Motion calling for stronger protection of Sri Lankan migrant workers, particularly unskilled and female workers who face exploitation when migrating without proper registration. He proposed mandatory SLBFE registration, sector-relevant pre-departure training, migration guidance, skills development, and financial literacy, alongside stronger regulation of the SLBFE and legal reforms where needed. Citing complaint statistics, safe house numbers, court cases, and incidents involving workers in Oman, Dubai, Russia, Myanmar, Kuwait, and elsewhere, he argued that regulatory failures have left many workers vulnerable to abuse, trafficking, abandonment, and death.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. (Mrs.) Nilusha Lakmali Gamage JJB
AI summary Nilusha Lakmali Gamage seconded the Adjournment Motion on migrant workers and emphasized the need for mandatory SLBFE registration, sector-specific pre-departure training, migration orientation, skills development, and financial literacy. She highlighted language barriers and inadequate training on machinery and workplace processes as causes of hardship and accidents, and called for a systematic programme to provide basic language and job-related training before deployment. She also noted the sacrifices made by women migrant workers who leave their families to improve their children’s future and household economic conditions.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC SJB
AI summary Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper supported the motion on regulating Sri Lankan domestic workers abroad, but argued that the central issue is why women, especially mothers from economically vulnerable Tamil-speaking communities in the Eastern Province, are compelled to migrate for such work. He objected to the term “housemaid,” urged recognition of domestic work as skilled labour requiring training, dignity and protections, and recalled the case of Rizana Nafeek as an example of the risks faced overseas. He said laws alone are insufficient because people circumvent them, and called for broader attention to economic conditions, family impacts and proper institutional support for migrant domestic workers.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. Arun Hemachandra - Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment JJB
AI summary Deputy Minister Arun Hemachandra said foreign employment is a major source of foreign exchange and emphasized the need to curb irregular migration while noting a decline in the share of workers leaving as domestic workers. He urged all migrant workers, including those travelling on visit visas for work, to register with the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment, stating that registration is necessary for effective state intervention in disputes or emergencies. He said the Government is reforming the Bureau, addressing past political interference, and developing mechanisms down to Divisional Secretariat and Grama Niladhari levels to provide guidance, training, and family support for migrant workers. He stated that the Government’s objective is to regulate the sector, ensure migrant safety, and address the economic pressures that compel people to seek work abroad.