No company has come forward to offer Sri Lanka female prisoners paid work: Official

By APSARA RODRIGO

ECONOMYNEXT– Sri Lanka’s female prisoners have so far not got an opportunity to work for private companies unlike their male counterparts, Prison Spokesman Gamini Dissanayake said.

“There are only 208 convicted female prisoners and so far, no company has offered to use their labor,” Dissanayake told EconomyNext.

“However, if there are companies that are willing to hire these females, they will gain employment.”

Female prisoners are given sewing and weaving as part of a training program, and they are given a small allowance.However, groups of male prisoners have been given work by some private companies for which they are paid 1024 rupees a day.

The prisoners are given 640 which they put in a savings account at National Savings Bank.Male prisoners get a daily wage of 1180 for work done and 1024 in they work out of prison.

A catering company and a company involved in assembling air conditioning parts are the latest private firms to offer work, he said.According to prisons statistic report there were 134,098 male prisoners in in 2022 and only 4483 female prisonersIn 2021 there were there were 74,105 male prisoners and 2868 female prisoners