Police directed to raid houses keeping children as domestic workers

By Norman Palihawadane

Public Security Minister Rear Admiral (Retd.) Sarath Weerasekera said yesterday that the police had been ordered to conduct raids to arrest those who employ underage children as domestic workers.

“Police have been instructed to investigate complaints and act on tip-offs about underage children being employed at houses. We hereby call on any person who has hitherto employed any such children to report to the nearby police station without waiting for the police to arrest them. There is information that a large number of children, from the plantations sector, have been brought to other areas to work in houses as domestic aides. We call on the public to provide police with any such information of any person who employs children as domestic aides. They can use the police hotline 119 for that purpose,”the Minister told The Island yesterday.

The National Child Protection Authority has listed 76 sectors of employment as dangerous for children to be employed in under any circumstances.

NCPA Chairman Prof. Muditha Vidanapathirana said the list would soon be given legal status.

Teenagers between the ages of 16 and 18 were often employed in those listed sectors and it would be prohibited following discussions with the necessary stakeholders, he said, adding that children could not be employed as domestic aides in the future.

Prof. Vidanapathirana said that the NCPA had received 4,740 complaints with respect to incidents of cruelty to children during the first six months of this year alone.

There was a spike in such incidents in June 2021, he said.

State Minister of Women and Child Development, Pre-schools and Primary Education, School Infrastructure and Education Services Piyal Niishantha said that a new mechanism would be introduced to be followed with regard to the recruitment of individuals for domestic work.

Those who wish to be employed as domestic workers or those who were already engaged in domestic work should register with the Divisional Secretariat in the respective area of residence, State Minister De Silva said.

“Children are being forced into domestic work given the lack of a proper recruitment procedure with regard to domestic work. Accordingly, a mechanism has been introduced to be followed when recruiting females for domestic work.”

The State Minister said raids would be carried out across the country with regard to children being used as domestic aides.