Thursday, 31 October 2013 01:19
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The Employers Federation of Ceylon (EFC) will hold its second annual Employers’ Symposium on 31 October and 1 November under the theme ‘Working Out Of The Box – New Work Practices’.
One of the fundamental issues employers are faced with in relation to the labour regulatory framework is the inability to have flexible work arrangements that suit the requirements of the world of work today.
The symposium is intended to draw conclusions that would form the basis of representations that the EFC will make to the policymakers in terms of the required changes that would be necessary to be made in policy/laws in order to cater to the new work arrangements that are needed in the world of work today.
Flexible work arrangements
As a case in point to highlight the relevance and paramount need for flexible work arrangements in Sri Lanka, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sri Lanka (PwC) had recently conducted a survey amongst employers representing the IT and IT Enabled Services (ITES) sector in Sri Lanka – one of the most progressive industry sectors with ambitious growth plans to position Sri Lanka amongst the most sought after destinations in the global knowledge service industry.
Lasanga Abeysuriya, Head of Strategy Consulting at PwC Sri Lanka, commented: “Work arrangements such as flexi-time and telecommuting have been practiced globally in both developed as well as developing nations for decades and have specifically been employed to retain the continuous participation of the active workforce. Balancing the challenges and increasing demands at the workplace with the personal aspirations and life style choices of the future workforce will also inevitably lead prospective employers to seek new and innovative means to attract and retain talent.”
The IT and ITES sector is characterised by the extensive use of modern technology. “Ubiquitous access to technology in the present day means that work can be performed from virtually anywhere and at any time and hence the traditional office setting or formal nine-to-five work day will be irrelevant for most organisations,” Abeysuriya further continued.
The survey
The survey on ‘New Work Arrangements for the IT and ITES sector in Sri Lanka’ carried out by PwC Sri Lanka identifies the challenges currently experienced by the employers within this sector and the extent to which companies are presently employing or expecting to employ new work arrangements to address their labour related priorities. The survey will also provide insights into industry practices that can be easily adopted across other industries with similar aspirations or challenges. The findings of this PwC survey will be presented at the Employers’ Symposium.
PwC Sri Lanka is an independent member of the PwC global network of firms and is responsible for driving professional service mandates in both Sri Lanka and Maldives. The firm to date has served a diverse segment of clients through assignments relating to its various services offered on audit and assurance, tax, consulting, technology, transactions, corporate finance, strategy and human resources consulting.
With over 400 employees and 18 Partners and Directors, it seeks to consistently deliver value across all touch points to all clients and stakeholders.
