Treasury elements blocking ‘decent work’ proposals, unions claim
View(s):Powerful elements in Sri Lanka’s Treasury Department are blocking approved proposals to ensure permanency for workers from manpower agencies, says a grouping of trade unions.
In a letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the appeal said that, “Reasons for such long delay in approving the amendment by the cabinet of ministers, as we have come to know is a sad fact. Powerful elements in the Treasury believe this country needs an unregulated labour force to attract foreign investments. But unfortunately, products from such labour that lacks stability and responsibility has no price advantage in the present global market. Such products are not considered ‘clean’ and therefore has less space for competition in the global market”.
The letter was signed by Lesley Devendra (state-controlled) Sri Lanka Nidahas Sevaka Sangamaya), Anton Marcus (Free Trade Zones & General Services Employees Union), Linus Jayathilaka (United Federation of Labour), Silvester Jayakody (Ceylon Mercantile, Industrial & General Workers Union), Palitha Athukorala (National Union of Seafarers Sri Lanka), K. Velayudan (National Trade Union Federation), S. Siriwardana (Ceylon Federation of Labour), Nath Amarasingha (Ceylon Estate Staff workers Union, Keshara Kottagoda (Ceylon Bank Employees Union), Suranga Naulage (Jathika Sevaka Sangamaya), U.D.H.P. Abayarathna (National Workers Congress) and D.W. Subasingha (Ceylon Federation of Trade Unions)
In the letter titled “Giving meaning to ‘Decent Work’ Day by denouncing Precarious Work’, the unions said that security of employment is key to the development of the nation and its concept of a ‘happy family’.
The unions said that there is a lot insecurity of hired labour provided to factories on daily pay and on casual basis by manpower agencies and raised two issues in particular.
“The first is the fact that such labour hired to work in production and service sectors which usually have permanent employment, is not considered the responsibility of factory owners. They therefore have no guarantee in employment. There is also no employer proper for them, who takes responsibility in guaranteeing them wages, overtime and other benefits according to labour laws of the country and in ensuring they have the benefits and privileges of permanent workers in the same factory doing the same work. We therefore wish to place before Your Excellency the plight of such workers in precarious employment, ” the letter said.
The second issue raised was that such hired labour from manpower agencies threatens permanent employment. At present such labour is often hired for permanent positions in the private, banking and state sectors. This thus reduces opportunities for permanent employment.
“The disadvantage of hiring such large scale precarious labour is not limited to those hired by manpower agencies and to permanent employment only. This effects quality service and production that discipline, skilled and permanent responsible labour could provide. This also denies us the possibility of exploiting the larger markets in the developed world where consumers look for products from production facilities that can guarantee decent work,” the unions said.
Having taken all these issues seriously into consideration, the National Labour Advisory Committee (NLAC) appointed a tripartite sub-committee mandated to propose answers to this issue. After long deliberations, this sub-committee proposed an amendment to clause 59A of the Wages Board Ordinance. That amendment was unanimously approved by the NLAC.
“The most important fact that needs to brought to Your Excellency’s attention is that, this amendment approved unanimously by the NLAC and submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers thereafter by the Minister of Labour and Labour Relations, has not been consented to by the ministers even after two years.”
“We therefore have to position our products as products that come from manufacturing lines that honour and respect decent work and therefore as products that are clean. We should be able to say our products come from factories where labour is being organised according to the national programme based on principles adopted by the ILO.
All these facts are placed before you to request that the amendment adopted unanimously by the NLAC to amend clause 59A of the Wages Board Ordinance and placed before the cabinet of ministers for consent be adopted and implemented in honouring the International Day for Decent Work that the global working class movement also stands for. We are confident our appeal on behalf of the 8 million workers of this country in ensuring decent work will be honoured,” the letter added.