Experts call for revision of labour laws

By Joshua Nicholas

Sri Lanka’s labour laws are outdated and need reform, insist a panel of experts, pointing out that an enabling legal framework is necessary to ensure rapid economic growth.

The experts were speaking at a panel discussion titled ‘Productivity or Protection’ at the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM).

Most of Sri Lanka’s labour legislation was enacted in the first half of the last century, when the employment market was vastly different. Members of the panel claimed that Sri Lanka needed an “enabling” framework of legislation to ensure rapid growth and an increase in productivity.

The discussion, moderated by PIM Senior Consultant Dr.Wickreme Weerasooria, included a keynote address by Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka Suresh Chandra.

The discussion panel included Employers Federation of Sri Lanka Director General Ravi Peiris, Sri Lanka Nidahas Sevake Sangamaya (SLNSS) Secretary General Leslie Devendra and Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Immediate Past President Dr. Anura Ekanayake.

“I think all of us would agree that we have a very tight labour regulated system, which has come about because of historical reasons. We have had these laws enacted at a time when the labour movement was very strong, and if you look at most of these laws, they have been enacted between the period of 1925 and 1960,” stated Peiris, pointing out that much more needed to be done to make labour laws more efficient.

The panel specifically cited restrictions on women working at night, biased labour tribunals and dispute resolution, inefficient minimum wages and grounds for dismissal, much of which was enacted in legislation from before the 1960s.

“It may be necessary to consider whether these statutes need amendment to facilitate development,” said Justice Chandra.

Echoing his sentiments was Ekanayake, who insisted that “we need to have an enabling legal framework, where speedy solutions can be arrived at, so that Sri Lanka will prosper, and at the same time, there will be continuing jobs”.

However, a more cautionary approach was counselled by Devendra, who agreed that the laws needed to be revised, but only after careful consideration and depending on need.