CSF, in collaboration with iSocial Bangladesh, convened a webinar on 10th June 2026 to contribute a regional perspective to the global conversation on decent work in the platform economy, with speakers from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Cambodia, and UK. The discussion coincided with the ILO’s 114th International Labour Conference in Geneva, where deliberations on a landmark convention on platform work were underway.

Platforms’ greatest promise is that they have created new freedoms for work – that gig workers get to work how they want, when they want, and earn as they like. But increasingly, this elegant outlook is being tested, as a more nuanced understanding has emerged on this type of work, and several countries have introduced new laws and protections.

Today, CSF celebrates 5 years of advancing research and advocacy that shapes a more just, inclusive, and sustainable future for Sri Lanka. We are committed to influencing public policies that are more people-centric and nature-centric.

Since 2022, Colombo Urban Lab has been documenting the realities of Colombo’s working-class urban poor amid Sri Lanka’s polycrisis. Through a series of policy briefs over the years, CUL’s work has highlighted how prolonged economic and social instability creates compounding vulnerabilities for Colombo’s working-class poor. 

In a media release yesterday (17 May), CSF called on the government to urgently revive and accelerate Sri Lanka's trade competitiveness, export, and foreign direct investment (FDI) reform agenda, warning that delays will be more painful as Sri Lanka faces an unforgiving global economy. We urged private and public sector stakeholders to work together proactively to chart an ambitious path forward.

Business and Human Rights remains a space that is still being negotiated across legal systems, markets, and local contexts. It is no longer a question of whether BHR will shape the future of business practice, but rather about how that transition will be navigated in contexts like Sri Lanka – aligning global expectations, local institutional capacity, and everyday realities and concerns of companies and communities.