Book Review

Showing the path to industrial peace

Employee Relations and Industrial Law in Sri Lanka

This is a collection of 14 papers, presented by the Director-General of the Employers' Federation of Ceylon, Franklyn Amerasinghe at various conferences, seminars and workshops. It covers a broad range of topics: The history of labour laws, industrial relations, collective bargaining and trade unionism in Sri Lanka; Human resources and their proper management and development; Some cross-cultural management issues; Options in rewarding productivity; Freedom of association and collective bargaining; Sound labour relations practices; The labour laws and the need for reforms; The settlement of industrial disputes by mediation, arbitration and adjudication; The impact of globalization on industrial relations and the role of the State; and Tri partism in Sri Lanka.

The breadth of the subject-matter serves to dispel the notion that the practice of law whether in the field of industrial law or elsewhere is confined to the arena of adversarial dispute resolution in courts and tribunals. It reminds the reader that a much more constructive role is open to lawyers, in preventing industrial unrest and ensuring industrial peace, thereby contributing to the development and prosperity of industrial enterprises. Their success in that role will benefit both employers, as well as society at large, by increasing the production of goods and services for the consumer, and the inflow of tax revenues to support national development.

These papers will be of interest to a wide audience: not only to lawyers in practice and in employment, but also to human resources managers, labour officials; to researchers, teachers and students of industrial law and relations; and to investors, both local and foreign.

Although Mr. Amerasinghe does not attempt to deal comprehensively with the industrial law of Sri Lanka he does discuss some aspects in depth, which practitioners in courts and tribunals will undoubtedly find useful. In doing so he raises some thought- provoking questions as to the extent to which industrial legislation may operate to reduce the demand for labour, and the need for cautious review of such legislation. Practitioners will also find that papers on other topics provide valuable insights and information about the management of human resources, and the background to labour legislation and industrial disputes, which will give them a better appreciation of the labour laws and of the proper attitudes and approaches to settlement of disputes.

I still recall my first visit to the chambers of the late C. Thiagalingam QC - a lawyer who never failed to fight his client's case tooth and nail; but yet a plaque on his desk proclaimed, "Better a bad settlement than a successful lawsuit."

Whether they are lawyers or not, all those engaged in managing human resources, improving employer-employee relations, and resolving industrial disputes, will find these papers to be informative and useful. They contain some useful statistical and analytical information about the labour market and its trends. But more than that, they constitute a valuable source of guidance and information about the importance of making the best use of human resources to expand employment, to create a better trained work force, and to be more competitive in terms of quality and price; about different strategies for rewarding productivity; and about the value of sound industrial relations, founded on a better work ethic and a sense of social responsibility.

The publication of these papers is indeed timely when rapid globalization makes it imperative both to expand markets for our products and also to attract and retain foreign investment.

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