Result achieved
Outcome summary
In August 2024, Sri Lanka adopted its first National Social Protection Policy to create a coherent, life-cycle–based system aligned with ILO principles and developed through tripartite consultation.
Outcome achieved
In August 2024, Sri Lanka adopted its first National Social Protection Policy to create a coherent, life-cycle–based system aligned with ILO principles and developed through tripartite consultation. The policy integrates social assistance, care, insurance, and labour market inclusion, with the aim of strengthening equity, resilience, and sustainability and moves from identifying and targeting specific poor groups to a more universal system that provides guarantees for all based on their life cycle stage, with special attention to specific needs at different points in life. To operationalize the National Social Protection Policy, the National Social Protection Strategy was drafted and received cabinet approval on 15 September 2025.
ILO's contribution to the outcome
The ILO provided technical support to ensure the proposed NSSP was aligned with international labour standards and financially sustainable. The ILO also took part in the wider consultation and contributed to integrating gender equality and social inclusion. Subsequently the ILO provided technical comments to the NSPS. The ILO further provided technical advisory services and spearheaded multiple capacity-building initiatives aimed at strengthening social protection in Sri Lanka. With the support of the Government of Japan and RBSA funding, the ILO provided technical expertise through actuarial valuations and policy advice to inform the design of social insurance schemes. Tripartite consultations and targeted training strengthened the capacity of government officials, employers, and workers’ representatives, while gender-responsive and inclusive approaches ensured attention to vulnerable groups. Capacity building initiatives also included trainings on comprehensive Social Insurance Management Training in January 2025 to examine international contributory social insurance models, highlighting the need to reform the Employment Trust Fund. The ILO also designed and delivered a Training of Trainers programme on maternity protection, certifying a group of trainers from Sri Lanka and neighbouring countries, thereby building a skilled pool of national trainers, as a complement to the ongoing legal gap analysis to evaluate Sri Lanka’s compliance with C183 on maternity protection.
Gender equality & non-discrimination
The interventions during 2024–2025 directly contribute to gender equality and non-discrimination, particularly on the grounds of sex, pregnancy, and maternity. The regional and national Training of Trainers on maternity protection, based on C 183, strengthens institutional capacity to promote women's rights at work. The legal gap analysis supports legislative reforms to close protection gaps for women, while social insurance training ensures future policies are gender-responsive and inclusive. In parallel, awareness and capacity building activities also promoted disability inclusion, ensuring that the policy reform process addresses the needs of persons with disabilities in line with international standards.
Partnerships
Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Women and Child Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Foreign Employment and Tourism; Workers and Employers Organizations