Labour unions are threatening to pull out of the National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC) next month if the government fails to implement proposals governing contract work, which has been endorsed by all stakeholders.
The call - at this week's meeting on Monday of this tripartite body - was made by veteran trade unionist and General Secretary of the government-controlled Sri Lanka Nidahas Seveka Sangamaya, Leslie Devendra. He told the Business Times that the delay in presenting to parliament the proposed Wages Board Ordinance amendment bill on contract labour, was due to undue interference of Treasury officials.
He strongly condemned the interference of top treasury officials into workers issues, which has become a practice during the past few years. Citing one example Mr. Devendra noted that the controversial private Pensions Bill was prepared by the Finance Ministry without consulting trade unions, employers and other stakeholders and it became a major issue due to bureaucratic bungling.
Other trade union leaders present at the meeting including Palitha Athukorala and Anton Marcus said Mr Devendra referred (in particular) to the Treasury Secretary Dr P.B. Jayasundera. "The irony is that while everyone - the President, workers, employers (Employers Federation of Ceylon-EFC) - are in favour of this legislation, the Treasury and the Secretary are blocking it," Mr Athukorala, President of the Progress Union, told the Business Times. Treasury officials are not in favour of the proposal saying it would deter foreign investors. The amendment, unanimously agreed by NLAC representatives including employers (EFC), is aimed at ending the practice of recruiting contract workers to fill core job vacancies.
The next meeting of the NLAC is scheduled for April 2 which is the deadline set by the trade unions to implement this proposal. Mr Devendra said that some companies deploy contract workers so that they can get rid of them at any time and this amendment is to prevent such practices. Mr Devendra also said the NLAC has become a talk shop and warned that trade unions will resort to international action to pressure the government to implement this law.
Another issue resisted by the Treasury is a recommendation by the Census & Statistics Department to raise the unit value in the Cost of Living Index. Mr Marcus, General Secretary- Free Trade Zones & General Services Employees Union of Sri Lanka, said that unions have been complaining that there is a growing tendency by the private sector to substitute core staff with contract workers, as it costs less.Subsequently, after lengthy discussions and consultations, employers and the President had agreed to discontinue this practice and changing the Wages Board Ordinance to bar core positions being filled by contract workers.
Labour Minister Gamini Lokuge told the Business Times that the amendment to the Wages Board Ordinance was drafted by the Legal Draftsman and is now before the cabinet sub-committee for its approval.
He also confirmed that a veteran trade union leader had expressed his concern on the issue at Monday's meeting.
Employers and workers unusually came together on this issue and also on the disastrous Pension Bill but their usual confrontational posture would emerge when the EFC releases a survey on March 27 on the impact of labour laws on business.
The EFC on March 25, 2011 sent out a questionnaire to its 500-plus member organizations, seeking views on whether current labour legislation helps to generate more jobs and develop businesses. The survey is said to reflect a call for labour laws to be relaxed, which trade unions are bound to oppose, if a better and less-restrictive environment is created for business. |
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