Speech delivered by Hon. Anil Jayantha Fernando, Minister of Labour of Sri Lanka, at the Asia Pacific Regional Dialogue for Social Justice held at Cinnamon Life, Colombo, 23 September 2025.
It is my honour and privilege to welcome you all to Colombo for this Regional Dialogue on Living Wages under the Global Coalition for Social Justice.
This gathering brings together governments, employers, workers’ organisations, development partners, academics, and civil society – reminding us that wage justice is not the responsibility of a single actor, but a collective endeavour.
For Sri Lanka, this dialogue is both timely and significant. As I reaffirmed at the International Labour Conference, we are committed to transitioning from a minimum wage framework to a living wage for all workers in Sri Lanka.
This commitment aligns with the ILO’s recent Agreement on Living Wages, which defines a living wage as one that ensures a decent standard of living for workers and their families, grounded in local realities and determined through inclusive and evidence-based wage setting mechanisms.
It also reflects the key themes of the Second World Summit for Social Development, scheduled to take place in Doha in November 2025. The Summit and its agreed Political Declaration have prioritized the operationalization of living wages as a key instrument for promoting full and productive employment and decent work for all.
In Sri Lanka, we have already taken key steps towards achievement of this goal. Some of these steps are:
• Significantly increase in public sector salaries under the 2025 budget.
• Raising private sector minimum wage LKR 17,500 to LKR 27,000 in April 2025, with further adjustments in January 2026.
• Expansion of social protection schemes in partnership with the ILO.
We pursue these reforms with realism and responsibility, recognising that achieving living wages requires balancing worker needs with economic sustainability, institutional reform, support for SMEs, and a focus on productivity and competitiveness.
Our plantation sector – especially tea, rubber, and coconut – is central to both our heritage and our integration into global value chains. Yet, many workers still earn below what is needed for a dignified life.
We welcome the Global Social Justice Coalition’s initiative to align private wage benchmarks with ILO principles, ensuring transparency, data integrity, and inclusivity. Such benchmarks should inform and align with – not replace – national wage-setting and collective bargaining institutions.
We also emphasize the importance of ensuring decent living conditions, through access to housing, sanitation, healthcare, and early childhood services, in plantation communities.
As a nation deeply integrated into global value chains—especially in our key export sectors like tea, garments, rubber, and services—Sri Lanka firmly believes that ethical sourcing must place the right to a living wage at its core.
Fair wages are not just about ensuring workers’ dignity. They are fundamental to the competitiveness and sustainability of our export industries.
Today, I call upon all stakeholders—governments, employers, buyers, and workers’ organizations—to come together and uphold international labour standards.
It is only through strong social dialogue and shared commitment can we build supply chains that are ethical, resilient, and inclusive—leaving no worker behind.
We call on international buyers, certification bodies, and all supply chain actors to take meaningful action to ensure that wages reflect dignity, fairness, and equitable value sharing.
Living wages are not the sole responsibility of governments, but a shared obligation among all actors in global trade —including employers and workers’ organizations—working together through strong and inclusive social dialogue.
We value our partnership with the ILO. The launch of the Asia–Pacific Digital Repository for Minimum Wages is a valuable tool that will strengthen transparency, support national wage institutions, and promote evidence-based wage fixation.
In closing, I extend my gratitude to the ILO and all our international partners for their support and for joining us here in Colombo.
Sri Lanka is honoured to host this important dialogue.
Living wages are no longer aspirational – they are achievable.
With political will, social dialogue, and international cooperation, we can ensure that every worker earns not just a wage, but a living wage.
Let us move forward together – informed, inspired, and united in our resolve to ensure that every worker earns not just a wage, but a living wage.
I thank you, and I wish this gathering every success.