"Sri Lanka: Malaiyaha Tamil workers in private tea estates suffer serious labour abuses – new report", 27 May 2026

Malaiyaha Tamils working on private tea estates and smallholdings in Sri Lanka are being subjected to abuses that meet many of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) indicators of forced labour, while being denied access to the country’s strict labour protections, Amnesty International said in a new report.

The research, which documents the plight of workers in Sri Lanka’s Southern Province, found that members of the marginalized Malaiyaha Tamil community suffered multiple and widespread forms of abuse including intimidation and threats, physical violence and harassment, debt bondage, restrictions on movement, and poor working and living conditions.

The report found that, in addition to its failure to address these labour abuses, the state is failing in its duty to ensure workers’ rights to social security, unionization, and access to justice…

… The report is based on research conducted by Amnesty International between January 2024 and January 2026. Amnesty International visited 45 estates in Galle and Matara districts in the Southern part of Sri Lanka and conducted 159 interviews with workers along with interviews of two estate managers and three supervisors. Fifteen focus group discussions were also held with 65 workers.

… The research found that estate managers often cited spurious reasons for withholding pay based often on unrealistic targets, forcing workers to rely on wage advances and loans to meet basic needs, putting them in even more debt.

… Workers on at least 22 estates described restrictions on their freedom of movement, including curfews and requiring approval to travel. Their living conditions also failed to meet key elements constituting the right to adequate housing, including lack of security of tenure, sufficient space and adequate sanitation…

… Employers on private estates and smallholdings exploitatively misclassify Malaiyaha Tamil workers as “casual workers”, denying them all labour-related legal entitlements and basic statutory benefits. Few receive maternity benefits, pension and sickness leave…