Unions opposed to legislative changes enabling night work for women
View(s):The Ceylon Federation of Labour (CFL) has joined other unions in the National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC) to oppose moves by labour authorities to amend the Shop and Office Employees Act to permit night work for women.
The CFL said in a statement that these changes are being brought “at the behest of the Employers Federation of Ceylon (EFC)”.
“It appears that the authorities have fallen for the specious argument advanced by the EFC that such an amendment to the law would bring in a spurt of FDI to the BPO-ICT technologies sector. We remember that in the ‘80s the then government on similar grounds denounced the Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised) No.89 of 1948 which was ratified by Sri Lanka on 31st March 1966 and by the Shop & Office Employees Act No.32 of 1984 it was made possible for women to be employed at night on certain conditions. Presently women cannot be employed before 6 am or after 8 pm whether as part of normal hours or on overtime,” the statement said.
However the CFL said, the following exceptions are permitted:
1. A woman of 18 years or more can be employed.
(a) in the business of a hotel or restaurant between 8 pm and 10 pm or,
(b) before 6 am or after 8 pm in an airline office at an airport on the work of a ground hostess or in a residential hotel on the work of a receptionist, ladies cloak room attendant, ladies linen room attendant or ladies lavatory attendant.
2. A woman cannot be employed in a shop or office for a total period exceeding nine hours a day inclusive of intervals.
The CFL alleged that under pressure from ‘capitalist employers’ the labour authorities are contemplating further widening the scope of the Shop and Office Employees Act to subject women employees to ‘intensified exploitation to earn a few more dollars’.
The union said the continuous search for cost savings through cheap labour is driving the off-shoring and outsourcing of business services from developed to developing countries using ICT technologies and this has led to rapid growth of this sector in creating jobs in countries such as Sri Lanka. “A lot is being said about this development. Its potential for economic growth and employment here is highly exaggerated. Further, very little is known about the working conditions in the BPO industry and the social costs it entails,” it said.
International studies, the union noted, have pointed out that “night work is common to serve customers in distant time zones in ‘real time’ and work is generally stressful. BPO employees face heavy workloads backed by performance targets combined with tight rules and procedures, all this enforced via electronic monitoring. This type of high strain work organization is well known to produce high levels of job-related stress”.
Increasing incidence of workplace sexual harassment, poor and inadequate public transport after sunset, deteriorating law and order situation in the country, the burden of attending to household chores, loss of rest, recreation and time for family obligations stand against ‘our’ women being employed on long-hours particularly in the night, the CFL said.
To appease capitalist employers the labour authorities seem to be contemptuously oblivious to the social costs involved, it said. “For these reasons the CFL is opposed to night work for women being extended beyond the present limits,” the statement added.
Follow @timesonlinelk
comments powered by Disqus