Analysis done in line with May Day 2026.
Manthri.lk identified three ways in which the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Labour (MCC) is not working. 
First, the Ministerial Consultative Committee (MCC) on Labour held less than 20% of the meetings that it is mandated to hold by the Standing Orders of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.
The Standing Orders stipulate a requirement of meeting at least once a month. The committee has met only thrice in the 17 months since the inaugural session of the current (10th) Parliament. Two of these meetings were held in February and October 2025, and the third in January 2026. 
Second, the highest attendance recorded across the three committee meetings was only two-thirds of the committee's membership. At the remaining meetings, attendance was just 50% and 42%, with only 10 of the total members present.
|
Dates |
21 February 2025 *1 |
08 October 2025 |
06 January 2026 |
|
Percentage of attendance |
50% |
42% |
67% |
|
No. of members attended out of the total members |
10* |
10 |
16 |
* The committee consisted of 20 members during the first sitting in February 2025. From then onward, its membership increased to 24 members. 
Of the 24 committee members2, only three were in attendance at all three meetings, namely Committee Chair and Minister of Labour Anil Jayantha, Deputy Minister of Labour Mahinda Jayasinghe, and MP Krishnan Kalaichelvi.
Third, there are no publicly accessible videos, live streams, and minutes of the meetings, limiting transparency surrounding the committee’s discussions. The only publicly accessible information is contained in two reportspublished on the Parliament website, which provide details on the agenda, and the attendance of members and non-members. However, the available agenda lacks sufficient detail to understand the content of the discussions.
About the Ministerial Consultative Committees:
Ministerial Consultative Committees are established in accordance with the number of ministries in operation. Their primary functions are to examine and report on matters related to that subject that are referred to them by the Chair or by Parliament, as well as to initiate Bills and motions for parliamentary consideration.
Footnotes:
1.* The committee consisted of 20 members during the first sitting in February 2025. From then onward, its membership increased to 24 members.
2. Members of the Ministerial Consultative Committee (MCC) on Labour: Anil Jayantha; Mahinda Jayasinghe; Palani Thigambaram; R.M. Gamini Rathnayake; Sivagnanam Shritharan; Oshani Umanga; Krishnan Kalaichelvi; Sarath Kumara; Nilusha Lakmali Gamage; Thushari Jayasingha;
T.K. Jayasundara; Mayilvaganam Jegatheeswaran; Lal Premanath; Padmasiri Bandara; Wijesiri Basnayake; Prageeth Madhuranga; Sanjeewa Ranasingha; Darmapriya Wijesinghe; Ambika Samivel; Chandana Sooriyaarachchi; Kitnan Selvaraj; Lakmali Hemachandra; Geetha Herath; Bhagya Sri Herath
Sources:
- Parliament of Sri Lanka – Ministerial Consultative Committee on Labour - Attendance. Refer to the sheet here.
- Ministerial Consultative Committee on Labour – Committee Reports
- Standing Orders of the Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.
Author Credits:
Faiqah Feroze – Junior Research Analyst
