Holidays: where have we gone wrong?

By Thushara Matthias
Thinking of taking a long holiday this coming April? Well why not, 13th Sunday, 14th Monday and 16th Wednesday and 18th Friday are all holidays. So taking leave or staying away from work (reporting sick for instance which is a common phenomena) on the days in between would give a whole week of holidays.

On the other look at the plight of factories and manufacturing bases. Is it worth to run these with only a few employees working when everyone else doesn't come to work?

Not only is April a disruptive month for production but May too is heading the same way with both being probably the most unproductive months this year.

With so many questions raised about the need to rationalise holidays in Sri Lanka, The Sunday Times FT spoke to a cross section of people on the need to rationalise the holidays and what has been done so far in this regard. We also found that while the chambers of commerce and the private sector have been consistently raising concerns over the number of holidays which stalls Sri Lanka's progress, Labour ministry officials didn't think the holiday issue is a serious problem.

Too long, too many

"There is nothing wrong with the holidays. It's the pattern of holidays that disrupts work." said Sunil G. Wijesinha, Managing Director, Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka Ltd. He said it is much better to have a couple of long holiday periods of even 10 days at a stretch than a one-day holiday every week. Taking the example of China, Japan and Malaysia, he said these countries are almost "dead" during their respective New Year periods.

However, some in the private sector are opposed to the idea of long weekends. A spokesman for Hayleys said that in Europe and USA they could declare vacations and close factories and offices but in a developing country one can't afford to do it. "We have to keep serving people from all over the world from one end to the other," he said. Even Wijesinha said shipments need to be sent and people have to report to work on certain holidays to keep production lines going.

He was of the view that people who take a break are more efficient than people who work very hard, all year long as monotonous work lowers efficiency and productivity. If holidays at a stretch are granted, the rest of the year must be a period in which people are committed to their work.

"Rationalising holidays is already happening gradually," Wijesinha said. He explained that until the middle of last year the Merchant Bank was following the Mercantile holiday schedule, as it is a mercantile bank.

Yet when it was kept open during a government holiday, many thought it (bank) was also closed, as it was a bank. Hence only a few customers turn up for services. Last year, the Stock Exchange which was following the mercantile holiday schedule decided to follow the public and bank holiday pattern. Therefore the merchant banks too decided to follow the same and be in line with the public sector and commercial banks.

Rationalisation
Several segments of society have been raising concerns over the need to revise the holiday pattern. The Employer's Federation of Ceylon (EFC) is one of them.

Deputy Director General of EFC, Ravi Peiris said that over the years, it has highlighted the need to rationalize the holiday pattern in the private sector to ensure a uniform holiday pattern between the private and public sectors wherever possible. He said at present the Shop and Office Employees' Act requires an additional holiday to be granted by way of a weekly holiday whenever a statutory holiday i.e. a 'public holiday' coincides with a weekly holiday. Last year, there were three such instances.

This not only adds to the number of holidays in respect of employees covered under the Shop and Office Employees' Act but results in shops and offices in the private sector including banks, remaining closed when government offices and factories are open.

He said their proposals for rationalisation have been submitted to the National Labour Advisory Council and the Ministry of Labour and are under consideration.

Many individuals in the private sector too agree that too many holidays disrupt the workload in offices. The Poya day holiday is under constant debate. Amarasinghe said if people are religious a holiday on their account could be used to observe religious rituals.

Eshnath Wijesinghe, Director Bartleet and Co Ltd, was also of the view that too many Poya day and other holidays lower productivity.

Protests
A growing number of strikes and protests in the country is also eating into productivity, prompting a spokesman from Hayleys to call them "non-official holidays" in Sri Lanka. Many working hours are lost due to protest marches, demonstrations and rallies which further add to the woes of the public by road closures or blockages.

Today many argue that the prices of essentials are skyrocketing resulting in the rising cost of living. Day in and day out there is a huge struggle for middle-class employees to make ends meet. "What we need to look at is how to increase productivity. It necessarily doesn't mean less input and more output. An attitude of this nature does not benefit Sri Lanka. We are missing the bus.

To head towards higher productivity and keep abreast with the rest of the world Sri Lanka needs to move towards value addition. It is the key, Sunil G. Wijesinha said. He further explained that Sri Lanka should have quality as the competitive advantage rather than price because it gives a better profit margin and is helpful in the long run.

An official at the Employment and Labour Ministry when asked whether there are any proposals to rationalise the holidays in Sri Lanka, disagreed that current holiday patterns cause problems to productivity. He said often many of the factories are closed for the whole week in the New Year period. On the other hand, the encashment of holidays (getting paid for working on holidays) was another factor that deters people from taking holidays which they are entitled to. He pointed out that most low-level employees work round the clock without taking holidays.

Therefore even though the ministry is looking at the holiday pattern there are no serious measures which will be taken in the near future, as it's not a "major issue."

Amarasinghe suggested that to encourage employees to work without taking holidays on and off, encashment of leave should be encouraged and this should be done through a public awareness campaign with media backing.

It is clear that many segments of society agree on the rationalisation of holidays and not reducing it. Analysts say that Sri Lankan authorities must model the holidays in line with other Asian countries which has long stretches of holidays but reduce it during the rest of the year, if Sri Lanka needs to do to keep pace with the rest of the world and increase its productivity.

Reviving the neglected South

The establishment of five regional economic zones, a government initiative included in its election manifesto, was to enable each region to exploit its unique natural, geographical and locational advantage in stimulating industrial growth and the expansion of services.

It was also meant to foster a spirit of healthy competition between the different regions of the country, which will benefit the whole nation as each of the regions, North-Western, Southern, Central, Western and North-Eastern - develops its fullest potential.

In this interview with The Sunday Times FT, Mineka P.Wickramasinghe, chairman of the Southern Regional Economic Development Commission, talks about his plans for a region that has been a hotbed of youth uprisings as result of decades of neglect.

Why did you choose the Southern region? The southern region is vast and it has been neglected in the past.

The southerners are dynamic, adventurous and above all high-spirited.

I personally like to work with high-spirited people.

They can be great assets if channelled properly.

The leaders of the insurgent movement were from the South. The spirit of adventure stems from high spiritedness. In the old days, they ventured out to Singapore, Hong Kong, and Myanmar (Burma) and have been successful.

B.P de Silva is a well-known name in Singapore.

Even today there is a 'Matara Kade' where there is a cluster of boutiques whether in Colombo, Gampola or in Polonnaruwa. The baker and the 'bass unnahe' were from the South even in Jaffna.

What do you think of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's plan to create regional Economic Development Commissi-ons?

I would call it an excellent idea.

Decentralising the processing would enable the zones to offer a specially tailored and personalised service to the different segments of investors varying from agriculture and fisheries to tourism.

It is the right direction for efficiency and professionalism. What is your vision for the Southern Region Economic Development Commission?

To make it a one-stop shop for investors. Many talk about investment for development. But development per se is not sufficient. People should benefit from the development.

The lifestyles of the people should improve.

We are hoping to concentrate more on harnessing the agricultural potential of the South at grassroot level, which would help to alleviate the living conditions of the producer. After all life is about progress. Mostly all want to progress, to improve their knowledge, their living conditions.

So, it is our duty being in the Economic Development Commission to make available opportunities for individual and collective progress. But to achieve this vision all should co-operate.

We should not work as separate entities but as a whole. I do request all government bodies to cooperate and work hand in hand for the success of the region.

The Southern Development Ministry has assured me of their wholehearted cooperation. What are your plans? It could be divided into three areas.

First are the mega projects. These will be done with the support of the Southern Development Ministry and other government bodies.

We will try to re-activate some of the existing mega projects that have been initiated by the Southern Development Board.

To attract investors the infrastructure must be in place. Extending the Matara highway to Hambantota we consider as a priority.

I am told that the funding is ready for developing the Galle Harbour, which then should proceed without delay.

The second is large investments. At the moment there is a $350 million investment from India for processing edible oils for exports. There are a few more in the pipeline for appraisal.

The third category is SMI ( small and medium industries) projects.

The potential for agriculture-based projects is vast. It is contemplated to give a guaranteed price for produce and establish processing units, where the producers too will have a stake in those units, and that some benefit of the value addition will go to the farmers.

We will set up a Marketing Board or attract private sector participation for international marketing.

A stumbling block to stimulate agriculture is the socio-economic problem, which distract the youth from going into agricultural pursuits. We have an intention to start farmers' clubs and give due recognition to them.

Make these clubs affiliated with foreign clubs and have exchange programmes. There are also plans to set up a number of Chambers for Commerce and Agriculture.
There are also plans to revive industries such as the manufacturing of kithul and juggery by standardising production and introducing more hygienic methods of manufacturing.

We will set up a R & D (Research and Development) department in the BOI to give free advice on farming and processing.

In the past Sri Lanka was called the Granary of the East. Today the go-downs are empty. Rice, sugar, wheat, pulses are all imported. Even salt is imported at present.
We are hoping to have a dialogue with the people involved and try to solve the problems pertaining to them in order to enhance production and uplift the industry.

To develop passion fruit cultivation, the spices industry such as extracting of cinnamon oil and other oils and to improve the standard of these industries will also be considered. There are several plans to set up research units.

There is wealth in individual hands and we hope to attract these for investment. Tourism is another sector, which has been stagnant. In 1976 there were 400,000 arrivals.

After nearly 27 years the figure is the same.

Where is the development that is spoken of in the hospitality industry? No doubt hotels have sprung up and there are more rooms. So the cake has to be divided into smaller and smaller portions.

Consequently the selling price has come down to rock bottom levels. The manager of the hotel I stayed in for the opening of the office told me that some hotels are charging $8 per guest for full board inclusive of local liquor, soft drinks, tea and coffee from 11a.m. to 11 p.m.

What the operators get is barely sufficient to break even. There are also plans to set up voluntary organisations, which teach English, and schools for training housemaids, nurses and other vocational training.

How do you hope to fund the projects?

There are so many grants and aid available. We will source some of these aid flows for communal development projects. Then attract the private sector to participate.

At the last Board meeting of the Board of Investment it was agreed that the investors would have to deposit one percent of the estimated project costs till the industry begins commercial operations. So this could be deposited in a bank and the interest could be used. Do you think you can find time with all your private sector commitments? Yes. It's hard.

Time is an important part of management. What is your message to the people of South?

Sri Lanka is a rich country.

We may not have oil but we are rich in terms of agriculture, gems, a picturesque environment, bio-diversity, etc. Any task would be successful if done with sincerity and determination.

Therefore let's work together to achieve success and let's be proud of our success.
The country needs to be developed as a whole. Let the granaries be full with our produce and let the Pearl of the Orient show its beautiful lustre.

So let the South be the beacon for development as partners in progress.

NIMB, Irish varsity offer MIS degree course

By Shanika Udawatte
The National Institute of Business Management (NIBM) has launched an awareness campaign on the Bachelor of Science degree programme in Management Information Systems (MIS), conducted with the collaboration of the University College of Dublin (UCD), Ireland.

"As a government institution we consider it one of our national responsibilities to enlighten the people of what we are offering and its value so that those who are interested in IT can make the maximum of it," NIBM chairman Thushantha Wijemanna told a news conference.

He added that they have been conducting this degree programme since 1997 and that the students' success rates are close to 98 percent.

Course Director C. Gunadasa said the MIS degree course was a three-year programme divided into three levels.

Those who have completed the Higher Diploma in Computer Based Information Systems conducted by the NIBM will be eligible to directly enter the level two or the second year of the MIS degree programme. Those with other related qualifications would also be considered for exemptions on a case-by-case basis.

Prof. H. Harrison of the UCD, who has been working closely with the NIBM for many years, said that the same educational standards that are maintained in Ireland by the UCD are maintained here as well. He said half the staff were from the UCD and the rest from the NIBM.

"The examinations too are set according to the UCD standards and when the final degree is awarded there will be no difference whether a student has followed the course in Ireland or at NIBM in Sri Lanka," he said.

Dr. Martin Butler of the UCD commenting on the recognition of the degree said that it would be accepted by any university in the world as a qualification for a post-graduate course.

Chemotherapy infusion unit from Ceylinco

The Ceylinco Cancer Detection Centre, Sri Lanka's only dedicated facility for cancer screening, says it offers a facility where cancer patients can receive their chemotherapy infusion in a clean, comfortable, relaxed and friendly setting.

The unit is supervised by a medical officer while the drugs will be administered and monitored by a senior staff nurse with oncology experience.

Information and support to patients will be available throughout the courseof their treatment.

A spokesperson for the centre said, prior to the launch of this unit, the options available to cancer patients was to get admitted at the Maharagama

Cancer Institute or a private hospital ward for their chemotherapy infusions which could take up to several hours.

Established in collaboration with the Washington Cancer Institute, the

Cancer Detection Centre is a ground breaking project of Ceylinco Healthcare

Services Ltd. (CHSL), a subsidiary of Ceylinco Life, is the country's largest private sector insurer.

 

 


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