The Hon. (Ms.) Krishnan Kalaichelvi

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, the Regulation brought today by the Minister of Labour under the Shops and Office Employees Act, No. 19 of 1954, is truly welcome.

¶ 02 Although women are 51% of Sri Lanka’s population, their labour force participation is only 34%. To accelerate development, we must harness women’s contribution by ensuring facilities and removing legal impediments.

¶ 03 After 2018, the year with the highest tourist arrivals is 2025—with over 2,360,000 tourists. We must improve facilities to match their needs. Tourism is a prime income earner. It is our Government’s responsibility to create and fulfill legal arrangements to employ women at night, ensuring their needs are met.

¶ 04 Unemployment affects women severely; to utilize their talents for national development, we must enable night work with proper arrangements. Many tourists are arriving, including many women; to serve them, enabling women’s employment through these legal provisions is welcome.

¶ 05 Many women here remain unemployed and distressed; parents were reluctant to send daughters to night work due to lack of accommodation, transport and safety. This Regulation addresses those by ensuring accommodation, transport and safety. It will also enable hill country women to go to night work without fear, creating income avenues for our people. Therefore, approving this Regulation for the tourism-related night employment of women is the need of the hour. Thank you.