By Asoka S. Seneviratne –
Prof. Asoka.S. Seneviratne
“We cannot punish our way out of child labour—we must uplift our way out. Only by addressing the poverty, exploitation, and cultural pressures that push children into work can we truly free them to be children.”
Following the publication of my article on “Ending Child Labour: The Importance Of Enforcement, Accountability & Social Reform” with Colombo Telegraph on June 27, 2025, many asked me to write another article elaborating on the root causes indicated and how to address them.
Sri Lanka’s renewed effort to eliminate child labor through strict enforcement measures, starting in July 2025, signifies a major policy shift. While this action is praiseworthy, enforcement alone is not enough. Unless we address the underlying causes—poverty, trafficking, and family pressures—legal actions will just push child labor underground. Real change requires a systemic approach that focuses on prevention through social reform. As the saying goes, we must put the horse before the cart.
The Nature and Extent of Child Labour in Sri Lanka
According to the 2022 National Child Activity Survey (NCAS), over 100,000 children ages 5–17 are involved in some form of labor in Sri Lanka. Nearly 40% of them work in hazardous conditions. These numbers, however, only scratch the surface. Many cases go unreported, particularly in informal sectors such as domestic work, agriculture, and small-scale manufacturing. The problem is more severe in rural, plantation, and post-conflict areas.
The factors that drive child labour are interconnected, rooted in the socioeconomic structure of families and communities. To eradicate child labour sustainably, we must understand the nature and extent of each underlying cause.
Poverty: The Engine behind Child Labour
Nature: Poverty remains the most persistent and deep-rooted driver of child labour. Families struggling to meet basic needs often see child employment not as exploitation, but as an economic necessity. When parents are unemployed, underemployed, or engaged in low-paying informal work, children are compelled to contribute to household income.
Extent: In districts like Monaragala, Mullaitivu, and Nuwara Eliya, where poverty rates surpass the national average, child labor is especially widespread. These regions also have limited access to quality education, making school attendance physically and financially difficult. The COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 economic crisis worsened the situation, pushing thousands more into vulnerability. According to the World Bank, Sri Lanka’s poverty rate increased from 11.3% in 2019 to 25% in 2023, significantly raising the risk of child labor.
Response Strategy: The government must expand targeted poverty alleviation programs like Samurdhi, but with stricter means-testing and accountability measures. Introducing conditional cash transfers linked to school attendance can decrease the economic motivation to send children to work. At the same time, rural employment programs for adults—especially single mothers—could reduce family reliance on income from children.
Trafficking and Exploitation: A Silent Crisis
Nature: Child trafficking for labour, sexual exploitation, and domestic servitude remains an under-reported but significant threat. Children from broken families, orphanages, or those living without formal guardianship are particularly at risk. Often, children are promised education or jobs in the city, only to be forced into unpaid or exploitative labour.
Extent: Although data on trafficking is limited because of its secretive nature, anecdotal evidence and law enforcement reports indicate that trafficking networks operate across district borders, particularly between rural areas in Eastern, Northern, and Central Provinces and urban centers like Colombo and Gampaha. The 2023 U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report lowered Sri Lanka’s rank due to weak law enforcement and inadequate victim support systems.
Response Strategy: Strengthening the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA), improving inter-agency coordination, and expanding victim rescue and rehabilitation services are urgent needs. Public awareness campaigns in high-risk districts—especially via schools, religious institutions, and media—can also play a vital role. Cross-border and inter-provincial monitoring, with real-time data sharing, must be institutionalized.
Family Pressure: Cultural and Social Norms
Nature: Not all child labour stems from poverty or crime. In some communities, children are expected to contribute to their family’s livelihoods, take over family trades, or help with household chores, often at the expense of their education. In other cases, child work is tied to outdated cultural norms or social obligations such as dowry preparation, early marriage, or elder care responsibilities. Often, parents are unaware of the long-term harm they cause.
Extent: Surveys show that over 30% of working children come from families with at least one adult present, indicating that family pressure—not just abandonment or trafficking—is a main factor. In plantation regions and coastal fishing communities, cycles of labor are passed down through generations. Girls, in particular, are pushed into domestic work or early marriage, with limited chances for education or social mobility.
Response Strategy: Enhance parental education and community awareness initiatives. School-based outreach combined with social worker follow-ups can be impactful. Community child protection committees, including religious and civic leaders, can help challenge harmful norms from within. School feeding programs and uniform stipends can also reduce household burdens that lead to school dropouts.
Structural Gaps in Law Enforcement
Even with strong laws on paper, including the Employment of Women, Young Persons, and Children Act, enforcement remains weak. Many child labour cases are settled informally or overlooked. Labour inspectors are under-resourced, and inter-agency coordination is sporadic. Moreover, when children are found working, few systems exist to rehabilitate or reintegrate them.
We should therefore shift the focus from punitive enforcement to structural prevention. Enforcement ought to be a last resort, used only after comprehensive prevention and support measures have been exhausted.
Policy Recommendations
To truly end child labour, Sri Lanka needs a coordinated, multi-sectoral strategy:
1. Economic Interventions
* Conditional cash transfers for families.
* Rural employment programs for adults.
* Expansion of free school meal and transport programs.
2. Institutional Strengthening
* More funding and training for the NCPA and Labour Department.
* Integration of Child Protection Services into Local Governance.
* Data collection systems to track vulnerable children.
3. Education and Empowerment
* Education subsidies for uniforms, materials, and school fees.
* Bridging programs for school dropouts and working children.
* School counsellors are trained in child protection.
4. Community Engagement
* Local child protection committees are led by religious/civic leaders.
* Public campaigns challenging norms that normalize child labour.
* Legal aid and family mediation services.
Summary
Child labor is a complicated social issue, caused not by a single factor but by a mix of poverty, trafficking, and family pressure. These fundamental causes are deeply woven into Sri Lanka’s socioeconomic structure. Unless they are addressed directly, efforts to enforce laws will be reactive, inadequate, and ultimately unsustainable.
Conclusion: Putting the Horse Before the Cart
While Sri Lanka’s decision to tighten the enforcement of child labour laws is necessary, it cannot succeed in isolation. We must first address the circumstances that force families to make impossible choices—choosing between survival and legality.
By investing in poverty alleviation, safeguarding vulnerable children from trafficking, and reshaping family and social norms through education, we can create a society where children are viewed not as laborers but as learners and future leaders.
Ending child labour is not merely a legal challenge—it is a moral imperative. Let us start by putting the horse before the cart.
*The writer, among many, served as the Special Advisor to the President of Namibia from 2006 to 2012 and was a Senior Consultant with the UNDP for 20 years. He was a Senior Economist with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (1972-1993), asoka.seneviratne@gmail.com
Just SL / July 1, 2025
Every conflict in the world has a root cause. Politicians do not want to acknowledge and act on the root causes.
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ramona therese fernando / July 4, 2025
Asoka Seneviratne,
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Yes, it is important for Sri Lanka to move towards what you propose. Hope the government will taker steps to begin these programs and develop them further, as the economy progresses. Trafficking of these children should be stopped immediately. But not all child labour can be categorized as such.
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At this time of economic hardship for many communities, it is probably more productive if these children are allowed age-appropriate work. If they are to go out of their communities to other villages or cities, one or both parents or a responsible adult should go along with them to protect them and give them guidance and apprenticeship. This is far better than their richer and more educated counterparts, many of whom spend their lives on social media, are gaming addicts, are on medication, and are even on drugs, all within their closed monetary social circles. The less privileged children are clean and innocent, in comparison
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ramona therese fernando / July 4, 2025
Whilst it is true that all children need a certain education, how far will schooling on a regular basis help these children of lesser means in this cash strapped economic times? They will end up unemployed having lost their natural working skills learned from childhood, or they will take on unnecessary occupations that the government will be forced to create at the expense of the economy, so as to accomodate them. These children are currently learning the skills and trade of their parents and keeping their communities stable. Of course they also need basic educatation so they take on the next phase of country development. But not at the rigorous pace richer kids are schooled to reach top level tertiary education, usually in Western places. And forcing this tertiary level on them for the futuristic hope that just 0.1% of them will have a chance of this high-level achievement comes at the price of the 99.9% losing their natural working skills.
The occupations of their parents need to be seen has having value and respect.
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ramona therese fernando / July 4, 2025
Even children begging on the streets can be called “soliciting for donations for their families” while they also gain useful survival skills. It is far worse and shameful to see big gala events enjoyed by the rich Lankans soliciting donations to benevolently give to the poor. At least these children are out in the open getting physical exercise and not sitting for most of the time with cell phones and in front of computers and gaming machines.
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Beggars makes the country look shameful, especially for those of means who want to see a modernized country and can’t think beyond towards the masses of struggling communities in our country. But our country has been failing for a long time. Begging is a natural phenomenon that comes out of living in a long failed state for so long.
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Of course nobody likes to see children begging or doing manual labour and chores, but in the current situation with our country deep in debt and with very little resources to deal with it, giving poor people a boost of confidence and respect will eventually develop our national spirit for both poor and rich, and into a path of greater awareness and inclusivity.
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