National consultation on Future of Work begins in Sri Lanka

From left: Ceylon Workers Congress Senior Vice President K. Marimuttu, ILO Country Office for Sri Lanka and the Maldives Director Donglin Li, Ministry of Labour and Trade Union Relations Secretary Gotabaya Jayaratne and Employer’s Federation of Ceylon Director General Kanishka Weerasinghe

The Future of Work initiative was launched by the Director-General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), at the International Labour Conference in June 2015. 

This initiative is intended to be a major milestone in the history of the ILO and the member states leading up to and beyond its centenary in 2019. 

The goal of the Future of Work initiative is to generate a shared understanding of the forces transforming the world of work and to equip governments, employers and workers with the knowledge, ideas and policy alternatives to advance the cause of social justice as the ILO enters its second century of work. For this purpose, the ILO Director General requested the ILO 187 member states to start the national dialogue on the Future of Work in 2016. 

In response to the request, the Ministry of Labour and Trade Union Relations, supported by the ILO Office, held a National Consultation to introduce the Future of Work initiative with the relevant stakeholders on 24 May in Colombo.  This consultation was earmarked as a first step towards a country dialogue on Future of Work among ILO tripartite constituents and other stakeholders.

Introducing the Future of Work initiative, ILO Country Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives Donglin Li stated more than 60 countries are currently planning consultations on the Future of Work initiative with workers and employers as well as academics, think tanks, businesses and civil society. He also stressed that Sri Lanka is the first country in the region to start the national dialogue on this initiative, and it will generate new knowledge and important insights as well as valuable ideas and solutions. He expressed his sincere gratitude to the Ministry for starting the dialogue. 

Secretary to the Ministry of Labour and Trade Union Relations Gotabaya Jayaratne assured the audience that the Ministry, on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, has already agreed to implement the Future of Work initiative. The Ministry will take the lead to develop a road map to match the competencies of the country to the international standards to also ensure a productive labour force in Sri Lanka. He added, “This Future of Work Consultation is an important opportunity for the tripartite constituents and ILO to discuss the way forward in overcoming the challenges faced by the country.”

Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC) Director General Kanishka Weerasinghe spoke on behalf of the employers. He thanked the participants for showing their interest in joining this initiative and stressed that the time has arrived to discuss and deal with Future of Work in a competitive and changing world of work. He assured that the EFC would extend its fullest cooperation to the Government to achieve the goals related to the Future of Work initiative. He emphasised that, “The common objective of the Future of Work Initiative is necessarily decent work for all, and all the stakeholders have to ensure that each other’s priorities are not overridden and that results are achieved in a pragmatic and positive manner.”

Ceylon Workers Congress Senior Vice President K. Marimuttu stated that the role of the state and the employers needs to be revisited, and more attention is needed to protect workers in the future. He also noted that “any dialogue on the FOW cannot ignore the need for policy reconsiderations and a review of the roles of all stakeholders, including the Government as well as ILO.”

Representatives from line Ministries including Ministry of Labour and Trade Union Relations, Trade Unions, Employers’ Federation of Ceylon, academia and UN and bilateral agencies were also present at the event. A panel discussion followed the opening session and covered the topics of work and society; decent jobs for all; organisation of work and productivity; and governance of work.