- Ministry to discuss proposals one on one
The first draft of a new Labour Code which will be more comprehensive but flexible than the existing labour laws in the country, will be completed by May, Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara stated.
Trade unions, entrepreneurs, investors, interested parties, and anyone who has ideas on the matter can come forward and submit their views and opinions to the Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment regarding the preparation of the new Labour Code, he noted, adding that opportunities will even be provided for such persons and parties to meet high ranking Ministry officials.
Speaking at a news conference held at the Ministry recently, he also stated that even after preparing the draft in May, it will be open for amendments.
“There has been much talk about labour laws. On the one hand, the investors complain about them, while on the other, the workers also complain about them. Today, at a time when the whole country is changing, we have to change the current set of outdated labour laws as well. There are about 40 Laws related to labour which are very old. Out of this, only 16 Laws are currently being used. There are separate laws for trade union activities, compensation, maternity benefits, industrial disputes, labour in shops and offices, the termination of employment, etc.
“We have to pay attention to a large number of laws in order to understand what the labour laws are in our country. An entrepreneur who starts a business in our country cannot understand the labour laws in our country. When a worker wants to know his/her labour rights, it is difficult to explain them easily. Especially when workers try to solve their grievances, they have to waste years in terms of time. Organisations also have a situation where if an employee does not have the required skills, that employee cannot be removed. There is a lot of confusion related to the current complex labour laws in the country. A woman cannot work at night. According to the law in this country, no one can do part-time jobs. If the productivity of an employee hired by an organisation is low, organisations cannot deal with it. You can stay in the company even if you don’t work. There is no removal method.
“Will foreign investors come to Sri Lanka in this kind of situation? Sri Lanka has become a country with minimal facilities for doing business in the world because of the weaknesses in this labour laws. If we want to attract more foreign investors and want to see local entrepreneurs starting new businesses, these labour laws have to be changed. There are many barriers in these laws to improve efficiency, productivity and to give workers the opportunity to earn more income.
“This is why we have created a programme that will strengthen the workforce and attract investors. We will present the draft of the new Labour Law Code by May. We expect to present it to the Cabinet of Ministers. There is a lot of criticism regarding the labour law in our country. Because of this, trade unions, investors, entrepreneurs, and anyone with an independent opinion can send their proposals to the Ministry. We are ready to give an opportunity to anyone who wants to meet and share their ideas. We will arrange a time to meet. Even after the initial draft is prepared, it will be open for amendments.”
He also observed that today, there are less than 100,000 Employees’ Provident Fund and Employees’ Trust Fund paying institutions in our country while the number of taxpaying establishments is less than 300,000. “How small is the number of business establishments in Sri Lanka? We will provide the best possible support to the labour sector to increase the number of business institutions and entrepreneurs in the country.”
Source By themorning.lk
