Sri Lanka revises Minimum Age for Migrant Domestic Workers

Sri Lanka revises Minimum Age for Migrant Domestic Workers

Sri Lanka has decided to amend the Minimum Age for Migrant Domestic Workers to 21 years.

A document from the Department of Government Information said that the Cabinet of Ministers granted permission to revise the said age limit, after considering the recommendations of the Cabinet-appointed Sub-Committee.

The statement added that Sri Lankan women going overseas for employment as Domestic Aides have age limitations.

For Saudi Arabia the minimum age is 25 years, and for other Middle Eastern Countries is 23 years, and for all other countries is it 21 years. Accordingly, these limitations will be revised to 21 years.

In January 2011, the Cabinet of the Sri Lankan government approved a proposal to raise the minimum legal age of employment for migrant domestic workers from Sri Lanka, making it 21 rather than 18.

The standard was suggested by the then-Minister of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare, Dilan Perera, to deal with the problem of young migrant workers being abused and exploited abroad.

In many of the countries to which Sri Lankans migrate to take domestic service jobs there is no minimum legal age limit for employment of female workers; young women are considered especially likely to be abused by their employers.