All publications for country

Integrated approaches for formalization in Asia and the Pacific

This report highlights why the multi-faceted dimensions of informality demand an integrated approach to formalization, outlines the nature of an integrated approach to employment formalization, reviews the extent that countries in Asia and the Pacific are applying integrated approaches to formalization, and provides examples and an action-oriented outline for advancing integrated approaches to formalization in the region.

The care economy and decent work in Sri Lanka: Opportunities, challenges and future trends

The gender pay gap in Sri Lanka: A statistical review with policy implications

Research study on effectiveness of implementation of sub policy and National Action Plan on Return and Reintegration - 2015

This research study by the ILO Country Office for Sri Lanka and Maldives commissioned at the request of the Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment of Sri Lanka, focuses on the experience of Migrant Workers and their families through their return and reintegration journey back to Sri Lanka. It includes the experiences of migrant worker returnees during the COVID 19 pandemic, a time fought with many challenges in servicing returnees for both government and civil society organisations.

Labour market

Impact of multiple crises on Sri Lanka’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises

This study set out to inform the labour market disruptions caused by the multiple crises do provide for an unprecedented opportunity for the Sri Lankan labour market to reset with a MSME business recovery model at centre stage.

Gender equality and women workers

Investments in childcare for gender equality in Asia and the Pacific

The report highlights why and how investing in childcare impacts positively on gender equality and decent work in Asia and the Pacific.

Migrant workers

Comprehensive mapping and assessment of reintegration measures in South Asian Colombo process Member States

This report has been jointly commissioned by ILO and IOM under the Governance of Labour Migration in South and Southeast Asia (GOALS) programme in collaboration with UN-Women and seeks to map out and assess the nature and gaps in the reintegration support provided to returnee migrant workers from five South Asian Colombo Process member States: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

ADBI-OECD-ILO report

Labor migration in Asia: Changing profiles and processes

The report describes labour migration trends and policy needs in Asia after the lifting of strict entry and cross-border controls imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Framework for Sri Lanka’s health workers’ mobility adopting fair and ethical recruitment practices

Labour migration

Labour migration research on Sri Lanka: What do we know? What don’t we know?

Information on labour migration is scattered across different databases and among diverse stakeholders. Hence, this desk review attempts to analyze such dispersed information and curate them, identifying knowledge gaps to enable evidence-based policy making.

Green jobs

Sri Lanka: The Employment - Environment - Climate Nexus: Employment and environmental sustainability factsheet

The Employment-Environment-Climate Nexus Factsheets are a series produced for countries in the Asia-Pacific region. This Factsheet provides key features of labour market and environmental sustainability performance in Sri Lanka, as well as vulnerability to climate change and sectors with green jobs potential.

Labour market

The labour market implications of Sri Lanka's multiple crises

Trends and challenges in Sri Lanka's labour market from pre-pandemic through COVID-19 and up to the current crisis, followed by policy recommendations.

Public services

Building a high quality public service in Sri Lanka through workplace reform

The public service is a major employer in Sri Lanka, engaging some 1.4 million people. This Report recommends fundamental changes to the status quo: a new approach to workplace relations; a new human resource capability; new structures, processes and practices; and a new ethos.

Informal economy

The working conditions of home-based workers in Sri Lanka: A literature review

Desk study to identify the nature and extent of home-based work in Sri Lanka, specifically with respect to workers in micro and small enterprises, in the lower tiers of national and global supply chains

ILO working paper 73

Social dialogue in the Public Services in South Asia

A comparative overview of the laws, institutions and practices in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka

The ILO’s LEED+ Approach

Strengthening women's economic empowerment and access to Decent Work in Sri Lanka's Northern province

At the core of women's economic empowerment is access and agency; while access to skills, resources, services, and market opportunities is one aspect of advancement, the other, agency is about the power of decision-making. This document provides a snapshot of different approaches implemented by LEED+ towards achieving the above.

Social protection

Extending social health protection: Accelerating progress towards Universal Health Coverage in Asia and the Pacific

This regional report documents and analyses country experiences and lessons on the extension of social health protection coverage in the Asia and the Pacific region. It provides a detailed account of progress made, challenges encountered and remaining coverage gaps, and explores their root causes.

Position paper

Trade Union common position paper: Building Back Better from COVID-19 in Sri Lanka

A joint proposal from trade unions in Sri Lanka on: inclusive and sustainable actions that stimulate the economy and employment; support enterprises, jobs and incomes; protect workers in the world of work; and strengthen social dialogue underpinned by international labour standards, for a workers' agenda in 'Building Back Better from COVID-19'.

Decent Work in Garment Supply Chains Asia

Opportunities for a Just Transition to environmental sustainability and COVID-19 recovery in the textile and garment sector in Asia

A Just Transition for the garment industry in Asia is critical as the sector seeks to recover from the impacts of COVID-19. This report examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the textile and garment sector, specifically the employment and enterprise impacts, and contextualizes these within the wider development impacts of the sector – social, economic and environmental; both positive and negative – to ask the question: how sustainable is the sector?

Impact of COVID-19 on nexus between climate change and labour migration in selected South Asian countries: An exploratory study

Climate change has been identified as the single greatest risk for achieving the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development Goals. In South Asia, the world of work can be affected by various aspects of climate change including extreme heat, flooding or drought, or that can cause a rise in water-borne diseases, dengue or malaria, or bring pests that damage crops, among other disasters. With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the risks to the world of work have been magnified in both rural and urban areas, particularly in the informal economy.