COLOMBO, June 29 -- Sri Lanka's government has proposed a tenfold increase in the maximum fine for employing children, as part of legislative amendments aimed at strengthening protections against child labour and workplace exploitation.

The proposed amendments to the Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act, submitted by Minister of Labour Anil Jayantha Fernando, have been presented to Parliament and published in the Government Gazette.

Under the draft legislation, any person convicted of employing a child in a public or private industrial establishment would face a maximum fine of Rs 100,000, up from the current Rs 10,000.

The amendments also propose that anyone found guilty of employing a person under the age of 18 in viol...