Business

18th November 2001

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  • Achievements to crow over
  • Contents

    Achievements to crow over

    Chickens seen at the giant Bairaha farm complex in Pasyala near Gampaha. The company, which owns and processes one of the most technologically advanced poultry and processed meat facilities in South Asia, was awarded two global quality standard certificates. Bairaha Farms Ltd said it has received the ISO 9002 and the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) certificates.

    Mind your Business 

    Leadership battle
    There was talk of privatising a giant in the insurance sector sometime ago, but the plans were shelved in the face of some stout opposition from the unions.

    Now the idea has resurfaced and a major global player seems to be really keen to push the deal through. And, needless to say, like all good businessmen, they have approached the men and women who matter from both camps, blue and green but a final decision would of course have to await the outcome of the polls.

    Boot for phone booths?
    Their trade may have begun with a bang but now the buzz has dimmed in the payphone industry.

    At least one payphone operator is finding it extremely hard to meet overheads, what with rising costs and the rapidly expanding cellular phone industry obviating the need for phone booths. So, though a complete sell out is unlikely, there may soon be a merger with a rival with a larger network.

    Legal experiment
    Pirated computer software is available almost anywhere and at rock-bottom prices too.

    But dealers should beware: one large software manufacturer is not taking kindly to profiteering from the proliferating CDs and intends to file legal action. 

    And, yes, little Lanka is among a select group of countries in the region where such action will be initiated as a 'legal experiment'.


    Unprecedented number of layoffs

    "Appoint parliamentary select committee on labour reforms"
    Sri Lanka's labour authorities have been flooded with an "unprecedented" number of applications, seeking permission to lay off staff, in the past three months from private sector firms struggling against an economic downturn.

    "There has been an unprecedented number of applications seeking closures or to lay off workers," said Gamini Weerakoon, a retired labour commissioner, quoting officials from the Labour Commissioner's office. "In the last three months, there have been 35 such applications."

    He was speaking at a Colombo workshop last week, which looked at the crisis facing companies and labour regulations in relation to closures and laying-off staff.

    But Mahinda Madihahewa, Commissioner-General of Labour, told The Sunday Times Business that most of the applications received in recent months related to temporarily discontinuing of staff for three to six months.

    "These are all companies in the apparel and tourism sectors (affected by the July incidents at the airport and the September 11 bombing attacks in the US)," he said adding that there may be many other cases – not reported to the department – of staff being asked to stay at home on paid leave. If companies, in agreement with employees, want to offer paid leave to staff, they need not inform the labour commissioner."

    Neville Joseph, a veteran labour lawyer, urged the setting up of a parliamentary select committee to formulate labour laws and reforms after considering the views of all stakeholders. "Invite trade unions, employers, employees, the public and all others to make representations and once and for all formulate a mode of labour legislation by consensus instead of resorting to peace-meal amendments."

    The workshop came on the back of growing reports of companies seeking closures, cutting staff or curtailing production. Last week small and medium-scale garment manufacturers warned of falling orders and the possible closure of at least 50 factories in the next few weeks.

    Newspapers are filled with advertisements taken out by commercial banks seeking parate executions or seizing the property of private companies for failure to settle loans as Sri Lanka goes through one of the worst economic periods in recent times. Private sector analysts have put this year's growth rate at below one percent compared to 6 percent in 2000.

    Weerakoon said under the lucrative Coca Cola and SriLankan Airlines compensation packages – cited by trade unions as industrial standards - the compensation paid is beyond the reach of ordinary companies. "These are five-star compensation packages in the industry."

    Under the SriLankan Airlines package, workers laid off were entitled to a minimum compensation of Rs. 300,000 and a maximum of Rs. 3 million. The Coca Cola retrenchment compensation package started off with 18 months salary for two to three years service to a maximum of 60 months salary for a service period of more than nine years.

    "This has put the stakes up and unions often cite these packages when negotiating compensation," he said.

    The JVP-led Inter Company Union, which has swarmed over the private sector and ousted the Ceylon Mercantile Union (CMU) as the top private sector union, came in for criticism and was said to be losing support.

    Joseph said the JVP learnt a bitter lesson after the company served vacation notices in the cases of striking staff at the Daintee and Wonderlight factories last year under emergency regulations. None of the sacked staff was re-employed. "There were strikers who pleaded with us to take them back and blamed the union for their plight," he said adding that the same situation arose at the Ocean Lanka factory at Biyagama.

    Ocean Lanka, a fabric manufacturer, had a major labour dispute where a section of the staff refused to leave the premises for six days until the police intervened.

    Company officials say the firm has stopped a planned US $10 million investment to expand the factory and is looking at other options – whether it should re-locate the factory in Africa where there are US quota benefits and less labour problems.


    SriLankaFirst calls for vote on peace

    SriLankaFirst, a group of industrial associations and business chambers promoting peace, has launched the second phase of its campaign – urging people to vote for political parties and candidates who are peaceful and peace-loving.

    "We are asking voters (at the December 5 election) to vote for political parties and candidates who are sincere towards peace," said Neela Marikkar, a spokesperson for the powerful grouping, as advertisements promoting this message appeared in Sunday's newspapers.

    "We need to bring the peace issue back on track as this matter has been sidetracked at the elections," she said. "Peace is the biggest problem this country is facing, unfortunately this is not the main issue at the elections."

    SriLankaFirst came into focus on September 19 with a "Hold hands for peace" campaign which, according to organisers, drew close to a million people across the island including Jaffna. Since then the group, which has drawn some flak from nationalist groups like the Sihala Urumaya, has been meeting political parties. Some parties have expressed an interest in working with SriLankaFirst in finding solutions to the political crisis and the war. "What we are focusing on in these advertisements is to remind politicians that they should put the country and people first in their campaigns," Marikkar noted.


    Razor battle

    Sri Lankan consumers will get a taste of the "battle of the razors" when a new international product hits the market this week competing against the likes of BiC and Gillette.

    "Super Max", a blade marketed in 90 countries by Indian-based Vidyut Metallics, is being introduced as a cheaper product with more features than its competitors, according to trade sources. The sources said the new product appears to have some advantages over the competition like the world's first triple-blade disposable razor. This product is an exclusive creation of Vidyut Mettalics and was introduced to the world in the US one year ago.

    BiC is the market leader in Sri Lanka but sources at J. L. Morrison & Sons Ltd, the local distributor of Super Max, said they are confident of garnering a 30 percent market share. "One out of five men who use razors, uses a Super Max," one source said.

    The company is planning to market its entire range of razors in the single and double edged segments along with shaving foam that it also produces, the source said.


    Easy phone access for the disabled

    By Akhry Ameer
    Sri Lanka's Telecom Regulatory Commission (TRC) is stepping up efforts to improve telecommunication facilities for the disabled.

    Under a programme of the Consumer Dispute Resolutions Committee, headed by Ms. P. R. Amarasiri, Director – Legal of the TRC, one of the main tasks is to provide relief for those who are unable to use telecommunication facilities in the usual way as any other individual due to some form of disability.

    Although there are specific provisions in the existing legislature and conditions in licences granted to telecom operators to recognise and safeguard the rights of persons with disabilities, these conditions are not strictly enforced.

    "There is a significant population who are unable to perform day-to-day activities. In the process their impairment restricts the ability to use a basic telephone. The disabled population is rapidly increasing due to war, road accidents and birth defects," she said, stressing the need to focus on easy telecom access for this segment of society.

    Internationally telecom facilities are made accessible to people with special needs by way of special equipment such as special booths, voice amplifiers, enlarged dial pads, braille, bills in braille, etc. As these involve a large cost-factor the TRC has begun with small improvements and benefits like providing access to a basic telephone. In this regard, the commission has started visiting locations where collective groups of people with special needs live.

    One such site is the Ranaviru Gama, where a large community of disabled servicemen and their families live. Currently the residents have to go outside the village to make a telephone call. "Imagine the kind of difficulty and expenses a serviceman on a wheelchair has to go through to make a telephone call? They have to take a three-wheeler. The soldier has to get into it and load his wheelchair. Finally he ends up with an expense of around Rs. 150 to make the call," explained Amarasiri. In this instance the TRC has spoken to the necessary service providers such as SL Telecom to install a phone at the community centre in this area and also to set up payphones at convenient locations.

    "Payphones have been built all over the island for public convenience. There is no preference for people with special needs. After all they are also like us," she said. These special phone booths at strategic locations need to be designed to accommodate wheelchair manoeuvrability, the instrument to be located at a reachable height with a longer wire and the booth marked with the international symbol. Asked whether these should be compulsorily implemented by licensed operators, she said that the TRC intends to have a conference with the operators to address these issues. On the issue of funding she said that the costs must be undertaken by operators as it is a licensed condition, but the TRC will partially fund some areas such as the work at the Ranaviru Gama.

    The TRC has looked at countries like Australia, Britain and the US as examples of the facilities made available to the disabled. However, Amarasiri pointed out that what was most important right now is the basic telephone access, which the disabled are deprived of. Thereafter the TRC hopes to develop areas such as Internet access and also not restrict themselves to organisations but individuals as well. "Operators must not only think of the cost-factor but must think of the goodwill. For normal people technology makes life easier, but for these people technology makes life possible," she added.


    Wide-ranging copyright laws held up in parliament

    The implementation of proposed wide-ranging laws relating to intellectual property rights in Sri Lanka have been delayed due to the prorogation of parliament, official sources said.

    They said the Code of Intellectual Property Act (Amendments) Bill was presented to parliament in May this year but its passage through the House has been delayed due to the prorogation.

    "The bill takes care of many issues that have been raised by worried US authorities relating to copyright of sound recordings, CD's and cassettes," an official, who declined to be identified, said.

    He was reacting to comments made by US Ambassador Ashley Wills who called for stronger laws and enforcement of laws against illegal manufacture and sale of recorded music, computer software, video tapes and other intellectual property.

    In remarks made at the opening of an enforcement training session for Sri Lankan officials on Thursday, Wills noted that Sri Lanka needed to approve strong Intellectual Property Rights legislation quickly, as required by its obligations to the WTO, saying, "the delay in passing this legislation is hurting Sri Lanka's economy."

    But official sources, while acknowledging that the current law was inadequate to tackle this problem, noted that the issue was not as bad as stated. "Sri Lankan laws prevent duplication not reproduction. Anyway pirated material come from abroad like Singapore, Hong Kong or Thailand. US authorities should squeeze these sources before taking us on," the source said.

    Wills said the flood of illegal CDs and tapes has also crippled honest recording companies here and deprived many local musicians of their livelihood.

    "Intellectual piracy harms legitimate business and industry throughout the world, especially in Sri Lanka, where several potentially successful software companies have been unable to establish markets because of the availability of cheap, illegally produced products in the country," Wills said adding that some international software companies have also looked at investment opportunities in Sri Lanka but after looking at the sea of illegal copies made here, have taken their investments elsewhere.

    "I think there are much more serious issues taken into consideration by foreign investors in investing here like the uncertain political climate for instance," the source said.

    He said the proposed new laws deal comprehensively with patents, trade marks, unfair practices and copyright and has stronger provisions to deal with performers, producers of sound and the rights of broadcasters.

    It also has provision to protect undisclosed information, trade secrets and geographical locations like the use of the name "Ceylon Tea".


    Jobs in Ireland for Lankans

    A Sri Lankan employment agency has broken through the normally restrictive employment barriers in the west, sending - what is seen as – the first group of skilled personnel to Ireland.

    "As far as we are aware, this is the first time Sri Lankans have secured employment in Ireland through a licensed employment agency," noted Hemantha Sapumohotti, managing director of Emerald Isle Manpower and Travel Services.

    The company has found jobs initially for 50 Sri Lankans to work as chefs, cooks, restaurant managers or receptionists in hotels and restaurants in Ireland through a federation there representing hotels and restaurants.

    Six of the successful applicants are already in Ireland while four more are leaving next week. The company is waiting for the work permits of another 40 Sri Lankans. "The permits take some time. Once we get these the next batch would be sent," said Sapumohotti, adding that salaries were on par with western standards.

    The Middle East and Asia have been the traditional hunting grounds for Sri Lankans to find jobs through recruitment agencies while professionals have, individually, succeeded in securing jobs in the west. The breakthrough by a Sri Lankan recruitment firm to find jobs in the west would boost the country's potential as a source of labour for overseas markets.

    Emerald Isle said it worked hard - for eight months - to secure this contract, noting that though the work permits are for one year, the work contracts are open.

    "This means if the employer is satisfied with the Sri Lankan employee, he could extend the contract," Sapumohotti said, adding that Ireland has opened employment opportunities to other nationalities too.

    Meanwhile, the current election campaign sees a candidate contesting on the basis of raising the foreign employment profile and looking after the needs of migrant workers.

    Suraj Dandeniya, president of the Association of Licensed Foreign Employment Agencies of Sri Lanka and a United National Party candidate for the Colombo district, says a new UNP government has plans to create job opportunities abroad for 150,000 more Sri Lankans.

    "We will create more job prospects and improve the conditions of migrant workers," he said.

    According to these plans, graduates would be recruited, trained to speak in Arabic and posted as labour counselling officers to Sri Lankan missions in the Middle East.

    Embassies would be strengthened with lawyers to look after complaints of harassment and take sponsors to court in proven cases. Foreign missions would also be asked to routinely check on basic facilities available for workers.

    Dandeniya said there were plans to send at least 100,000 more Sri Lankans to Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Qatar and another 40,000 to South Korea.



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